Dentist must take action to improve

A Spalding dentist is facing enforcement action after an inspection found failings in a number of areas.

The Crescent Dental Surgery, run by Roopesh Singh, is a private practice on which the Care Quality Commission is imposing enforcement action in safety, effectiveness and leadership.

The report, which was recently published, said the inspection ‘found this practice not providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.’

The inspection found the practice to be visibly clean, but infection control procedures were not ‘applied effectively or consistently.’

“Staff did not have access to the correct levels of personal protective equipment.

“The records showed that not all equipment used by staff for cleaning and sterilising instruments was validated, maintained and used in line with the manufacturers’ guidance,” the report says.

It added that measures to ensure instruments were decontaminated and sterilised appropriately were not in place.

“The provider was failing to assess and mitigate the risks associated with Covid-19 infection,” the report added.

“We found that fire extinguishers and fire detection systems were not adequate to ensure safety at the service. Exits were not clearly identified or illuminated and fire evacuation drills were not carried out,” said the inspector, who added that the fire service have been informed and it had requested the dentist make improvements.

“The provider had not carried out a radiography audit since 2015,” which doesn’t adhere to current legislation.

There were also issues as clinical staff had not been trained in recognising and responding to early sepsis diagnosis and management.

“Essential emergency equipment was missing from the emergency medicine kit, included all pads for use with the automated external defibrillator,” says the report.

The dentist has subsequently replaced equipment, the report says, and booked staff on medical emergency training.

The stock control of medicines was ‘not adequate’ and ‘we found prescription forms were not stored securely.”

“The dentist was not aware of current guidance with regards to prescribing medicines.”

The commission also said that the services were not effective and records of staff training were not kept.

But the provider had a ‘caring culture’ and staff felt respected, supported and valued, according to the report.

The commission has issued enforcement action to meet legal requirements and there are also areas outlined for continued improvement.

The dentist has to tell the commission what action is going to be taken to meet the outlined requirements.

The practice manager told The Voice on Tuesday that Mr Singh did not wish to comment on the report.