Village Dental Practice

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• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations and had taken into consideration appropriate guidance.

Find out what we look at when we assess this area in our information about our new Single assessment framework.

The judgement for Assessing needs is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.

The provider had systems to ensure that people who used the service received person-centred care and treatment that was appropriate, met their needs and was reflective of their personal preferences. The dentist confirmed, where applicable, they referred patients to a range of specialists in primary and secondary care for treatment the practice did not provide. Staff told us how they kept up to date with current evidence-based practice. Improvements were needed to the clinician`s understanding of periodontal staging and grading and the National Institute for Health and Care and Excellence (NICE) guidelines in relation to antibiotic prophylaxis for endocarditis patients. Following the inspection, the provider submitted evidence of the additional training the dentist completed in relation to the periodontal management of patients and antimicrobial prescribing in dentistry. The practice provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health. Staff were aware of national oral health campaigns and local schemes which supported patients to live healthier lives. Staff felt the practice supported them to develop and enabled them to take on lead roles and responsibilities. Staff worked together and with other health and social care professionals to deliver effective care and treatment. Staff demonstrated some understanding of the need to obtain patients’ consent to care and treatment in line with legislation and guidance. Improvements were needed to the clinician`s understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the concept of parental consent. Staff described how they involved patients’ relatives or carers when appropriate and made sure they had enough time to explain treatment options clearly.

Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles. We looked at 9 patient care records. We noted that the medical history was not always updated, details of intraoral and extraoral examination, basic periodontal examination, periodontal, caries and cancer risk assessments, diagnosis, X-ray justification and reporting, recall based on risk, details of verbal consent and explanation of costs were not always recorded in line with the current guidance. In response to our inspection feedback, the provider told us that they had updated their clinical record templates in line with the current guidance published by the College of General Dentistry. There were plans in place to peer review record keeping and carry out a re-audit to ensure improvements were embedded. The practice had some systems for the safe handling and prescribing of medicines. We noted that the cabinet used to store prescription only medication was not locked on the day of the inspection. Improvements were needed to ensure the cabinet was always locked. NHS prescription pads were kept securely, and a log was in place to monitor and track their use. Staff worked together and with other health and social care professionals to deliver effective care and treatment. The practice had systems for referring patients with suspected cancer under the national two-week wait arrangements.

The judgement for How staff, teams and services work together is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.

The judgement for Supporting people to live healthier lives is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.

The judgement for Monitoring and improving outcomes is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.

The judgement for Consent to care and treatment is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Effective key question.