Walkden Dental Practice

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

We found this practice was providing well-led 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 Shared direction and culture is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Well-led key question.

The judgement for Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Well-led key question.

The judgement for Freedom to speak up is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Well-led key question.

The judgement for Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Well-led key question.

We found staff to be open to discussion and feedback. The practice staff demonstrated a transparent and open culture in relation to people’s safety. Overall, staff told us there was strong leadership with emphasis on people’s safety and continually striving to improve. Staff told us they had clear responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability to support good governance and management. Feedback from staff was obtained through meetings, surveys, and informal discussions. Staff were encouraged to offer suggestions for improvements to the service. Some staff felt leaders were approachable and listened to their comments but were less sure this would result in meaningful change. On the whole, staff stated they felt respected, supported and valued. They enjoyed working in the practice. We saw the practice had effective processes to support and develop staff with additional roles and responsibilities. Staff told us how they collected and responded to feedback from patients and the public. The practice had taken steps to improve environmental sustainability. For example, sensor-operated lights and by sending emails instead of printing and recycling where possible.

Systems and processes were embedded, and staff worked together in such a way that the assessment did not highlight any significant issues or omissions. Where information was not readily available, this was acted on and obtained immediately. The information and evidence presented during the assessment was clear and well documented. The practice had a governance system which included policies, protocols and procedures that were accessible to all members of staff and were reviewed on a regular basis. The practice had information governance arrangements and staff were aware of the importance of protecting patients’ personal information. Staff password protected patients’ electronic care records, and paper records were stored securely and complied with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). On the whole, we saw there were clear and effective processes for identifying and managing risks, issues and performance. The practice had systems to review and investigate incidents and accidents, and for receiving and acting on safety alerts. The practice responded to concerns and complaints appropriately. Staff discussed outcomes to share learning and improve the service. The practice had systems and processes for learning, quality assurance and continuous improvement. This included undertaking audits according to recognised guidance. We discussed with the leadership team that improvements should be made to the audit of antimicrobial prescribing and dental care records to ensure they would identify areas of improvement. In addition, the practice should also ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated, for example in relation to dental implants.

The judgement for Partnerships and communities is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Well-led key question.

The judgement for Learning, improvement and innovation is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Well-led key question.