Dentist fails on improvements

A Spalding dentist has failed to make any improvements required by the Care Quality Commission and now faces enforcement action.

An announced visit In November to Dr Baber Khan, in The Crescent, found the practice still didn’t meet legal requirements.
A previous report a year earlier specified areas which needed to be improved.
“We found this practice was not providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
“The provider had made insufficient improvements to put right the shortfalls and had not responded to the continued regulatory breaches we found at our inspection on December 15, 2022,” the report says.
The November inspection found the practice was not providing safe care and had failed to implement and sustain improvements.
Three of four smoke detectors did not work and not all staff on duty had completed annual basic lifesaving equipment. Systems to ensure fire exits were accessible were not effective and a ground floor exit was locked with a deadbolt and a mortice lock.
There was no five-year fixed wire electrical safety certificates. One dated from 2018 identified ‘serious defects that posed immediate risk to life.”
Inspectors also noted out of date materials in all treatment rooms and reported that local anaesthetic and cotton wool rolls were not being stored in a sterile manner.
Equipment to manage medical emergencies, as per national guidelines, was not always available in the emergency kit.
“Specifically, we found that the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was recorded as requiring calibration in June 2020, but this had not been completed and the adult pads for the AED had expired in September 2023,” the report said.
There was also no record that audits of disability access and radiographs were undertaken with the current legislation.
“Staff informed us they carried out regular monitoring and testing of water systems to prevent the risk and spread of legionella. We did not see any record of this monitoring between December 15, 2022 and November 1, 2023,” said the report.
Some improvements, notably servicing of fire extinguishers and fire alarms, had been made. There was also a record of Continuous Professional Development for clinical staff.
The CQC has now demanded enforcement action for improvements.