We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 8 February 2017 to ask the practice the following key questions: Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Abbotsbury Court Dental Practice is situated on the edge of Worcester close to a large housing development. It provides a mix of NHS and private dental treatment for all age groups but at the time of this inspection was unable to take new NHS patients. The practice has been run by the same family since it opened in 1994.

The registered provider is Abbotsbury Court Practice Limited. The two directors are Timothy and Judith Davies. Judith Davies is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

Abbotsbury Court Practice has four dentists, three dental hygienists, a head dental nurse, three dental nurses, a trainee dental nurse and a cleaner.

The practice accommodation includes three dental treatment rooms and a separate decontamination room for the cleaning, sterilising and packing of dental instruments. The practice is all on the ground floor and has level access from outside and throughout the building. The waiting room is slightly apart from the reception area which has a glass sliding partition to help provide privacy when staff are dealing with patients on the telephone.

The practice is open 9am to 5pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9am to 6.30pm on Tuesdays and 9am to 4pm on Fridays. The practice closes for lunch from 1pm to 2pm.

Before the inspection we sent 48 CQC comment cards to the practice for patients to give us their views. So many patients wanted to tell us about the practice that the staff there needed to photocopy additional cards. We collected 83 completed cards and one typed note placed in our box. This is a very high response rate. We also spoke with two patients during the inspection.

Patients were unanimous in their praise of the practice and many wrote detailed information about the things they valued about the service. People told us the practice team were professional, considerate and compassionate. Patients confirmed that their dentist provided clear explanations about their treatment and kept them informed. Those that commented on cleanliness confirmed that the practice was clean and hygienic. A number of patients told us they had been patients at the practice for many years and would not want to go anywhere else. The practice provided their NHS Friends and Family Test results for 2016. These showed that of the 799 patients who took part, 647 were extremely likely to recommend the practice and 151 were likely to. The remaining person had responded ‘don’t know’. The practice’s own in house survey results for 2016 also showed high levels of patient satisfaction.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was visibly clean and feedback from patients confirmed this was their experience. National guidance for cleaning, sterilising and storing dental instruments was followed.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had the recommended medicines and equipment needed for dealing with medical emergencies and completed the expected checks to make sure these were in working order and within their expiry date.

• Staff received training appropriate to their roles and were encouraged and supported to meet the General Dental Council’s continuous professional development requirements.

• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed and gave us positive feedback about the service they received.

• The practice used their own annual survey and the NHS Friends and Family Test to enable patients to give their views about the practice. Results during 2016 showed that patients would recommend the practice.

• The practice had comprehensive policies, procedures and risk assessments to help them manage the service safely.

• The practice used audits to monitor quality in a range of areas and make improvements to the service.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review its audit arrangements so that re-audits are completed at appropriate intervals to monitor that improvements have been made and sustained.