CQC Report Blasts Sir Paul Beresford MP’s Practice
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- Published: Tuesday, 22 March 2022 15:00
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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Conservative MP Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley) closed his dental practice to carry out ‘urgent safety improvements’ following a CQC inspection last November that revealed a catalogue of failings and shortcomings Private Eye magazine reports.
The MP, who works part-time at his practice in Upper Richmond Road, London SW15, is named as the Registered Manager of Beresford Dental Practice Ltd. Registered Managers have a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.
The CQC’s inspection focused on three of its ‘Key Lines of Enquiry’ namely ‘Are services safe?’, ‘Are services effective?’ and ‘Are services well-led?’ and concluded that services were not being provided in a safe or well-led manner in accordance with relevant regulations.
Amongst the safety concerns the report highlighted was an absence of records to identify which staff had undergone fit testing, no legionella risk assessment had been carried out and there were no readily accessible records to confirm that decontamination and sterilisation equipment had been serviced, validated and used in line with manufacturer’s recommendations. A dental nurse carried out an infection control audit on the day of the inspection which raised no further concerns. The practice told the CQC it would carry out these six-monthly checks going forward.
The report listed numerous other failings, notably the absence of a fire risk assessment, no general practice risk assessment, PAT testing had not been carried out and nor had a five yearly fixed wire installation check. No disability access audit had been carried out nor had antimicrobial prescribing been audited.
Most practices who fail a CQC inspection do so because they don’t meet the standards required to pass the ‘well-led’ section. Beresford Dental Practice Ltd was found wanting in several key areas.
There was no COSHH folder in place listing the hazardous substances use, the Provider had not registered with the Health & Safety Executive, nor had it appointed a Radiation Protection Advisor or a Radiation Protection Supervisor. There were no assurances that x-ray equipment had been tested and checked in accordance with national regulations and guidance and no measures were in place since July 2021 ‘to give assurance that the autoclave used at the practice was sterilising instruments adequately’.
The CQC imposed an ‘Enforcement’ notice on the practice – one of the strongest tools in its arsenal – to compel the Provider to address the health and safety failings and a ‘Requirement’ notice to make other improvements.
Many in the profession will feel severely let down by Beresford’s CQC inspection findings. As a dentist who is an MP, he is widely seen as ‘the voice of dentists in Parliament’. He is Chair of the all-parliamentary group on dentistry and oral health.
On his Twitter stream the BDA’s Eddie Crouch wrote “These are fundamentals in place to protect both dental patients and staff. This profession can be proud of the high standards we work to. Failure on the basics – on sterilisation and radiation – tarnishes that reputation”.
The CQC report can be viewed here,
Commenting on the CQC’s inspection report, Sir Paul told local media the Guildford Dragon that the failings centred around failure to comply with procedural regulations and that there was no criticism of the quality of dentistry provided at his practice.
“This is the second CQC inspector visit. The first, some years ago, gave the practice an excellent report. The latest was critical of procedures relating to a number of regulations which the surgery is now required to meet.
“There was and is absolutely no criticism of the standard or quality of dentistry” said Sir Paul.
Various report findings were also incorrect according to the MP: the autoclave worked but the recording mechanism was failing to record data properly and the appliance has been replaced. A national carrier of hazardous waste was, and always had been used by the practice since it opened. A qualified electrician has undertaken a practice wide annual check and “no equipment was found to be unsafe”. At the time of the inspection “a new x-ray machine had been installed, tested and checked and the ongoing checking and notification regulations were organised” said Sir Paul.
To help the practice keep on top of compliance moving forward, Beresford Dental Practice Ltd has engaged “a specialist regulations firm”.
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