Black Country healthcare and dental providers enjoy Good ratings as CQC inspectors publish reports

The inspections were carried out between October last year and April this year, with three 'Good' ratings given and the dentist surgery found to be meeting all regulations.

The three providers receiving a rating of Good were Inshore Support LTD - Supported Living of Stourbridge, Essence Health Ltd in Walsall and Cygnet Sedgley House and Cygnet Sedgley Lodge in Bilston.

Inshore Support's inspection took place on January 21 and followed from a previous inspection in 2019 which saw the service rated 'Requiring Improvement', with concerns having been raised about restrictive practices.

The CQC said full systems were in place to learn lessons from incidents, complaints and safeguarding events and also said that staff were fully involved and supported in their work.

The report said: "People were supported by the number of staff they needed. Staff had been trained and understood how to protect people from abuse.

"Staff felt supported in their roles. Staff managed medicines well and involved people or their advocates in planning any changes.

"Staff worked with all agencies involved in people’s care for the best outcomes and smooth transitions when moving between services.

"People and their advocates knew how to raise concerns. The provider had systems in place to maintain oversight and drive improvements in the service.

"Care records varied in detail and quality. Some records required further information to ensure details of incidents were fully recorded and information reflected people’s needs. Action plans were in place to address this.

"We assessed the service against ‘right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted."

Essence Health Ltd were being inspected for the first time, with the inspection taking place on February 20, and secured a good rating, with inspectors noting that staff were fully trained and people were sufficiently protected and cared for.

The report said: "The provider delivered safe care to the people they supported. Risks to people were identified and planned for including environmental risks.

"There were sufficient suitably skilled staff to support people safely. Staff administered medicines as prescribed and followed infection prevention control procedures.

"People had their needs assessed and care plans were in place with regular reviews.

"The principles of the Mental Capacity Act were understood, and people were protected from the risk of abuse.

"Kind and caring staff understood people’s preferences. People had flexibility with the times staff visited to meet their individual needs.

"There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the care people received."

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Cygnet Sedgley House and Cygnet Sedgley Lodge had received a Good rating on its last inspection and received the same rating again following its inspection on October 25 and in December last year.

The inspectors did say that while the service worked well for being safe, effective, caring and responsive, it did mark it as Requiring Improvement for well-led, saying that there were breaches in the legal regulation around good governance.

The report also highlighted low staff morale and issues around staffing levels and said that the provider had been asked to provide a care plan to address this.

The report said: "We last inspected the service in June 2018 and rated it as Good overall. At this assessment we reviewed all the quality statements.

"We carried out an onsite assessment on December 3 and 4 2024 and asked for, and reviewed data related to the assessment.

"During this assessment, we piloted an approach to identifying and improving service culture using extended observations.

"Staff assessed risks to people's health and safety and mitigated those risks. People had care plans to guide safe practice.

"Patients felt safe and said they were cared for well. There was a good range of activities and therapy to support patients' rehabilitation. Managers understood the service and staff were suitably trained.

"However, we found a breach of the legal regulation in relation to good governance. Not all staff felt supported by managers and some said they did not get formalised supervision on a regular basis.

"Some staff felt their morale was low and there was a poor culture. Most staff said they did not think there were enough staff.

"We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment."

For Claregate Dental Practice in Tettenhall, there were two focused inspections on April 24, of the surgery and the manager Bhupinder Gupta.

The surgery and Mr Gupta were both found to have met regulations, meaning that inspectors had found no breaches of the regulations for that area and meant that no changes were required.

The report read: "Infection control procedures in place were effective.

"The practice had effective systems to identify and manage risks.

"Recruitment procedures reflected current legislation and there was effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.

"Patients’ care and treatment was provided in line with current guidance.

"Patients were treated with dignity and respect and at the time of our inspection, could access care, support and treatment when required.

"The practice is in Wolverhampton and provides NHS and private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

"There was step-free access to the practice and car parking spaces available, including dedicated parking for disabled people, near the practice.

"On the day of our inspection, we reviewed feedback routinely collected by the practice. Patient feedback provided a positive view of the dental team and care provided by the practice.

"Patients commented positively about the standards of cleanliness.

"Patients felt able to book appointments within an acceptable timescale for their needs and said they had enough time during their appointment without feeling rushed.

"Patients reported they were given clear information to help them make an informed choice about their treatment and any associated costs. They were involved in decisions about their care.

"Patients reported that when they were prescribed medicines, sufficient information was given.

"Patients reported that they were supported to maintain their oral health and were provided with appropriate information and resources.

"The practice shared patient feedback with the team. We were told this was reviewed and where suggestions had been made, appropriate action would be taken."