We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 24/03/2017 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

Academy Dental Care is a dental practice providing NHS and private treatment for both adults and children. The practice is in Sandhurst a town in Berkshire.

The practice has a reception area, four dental treatment rooms and a separate decontamination area used for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments all of which are located on the first floor. The premises are not accessible to wheelchair users, prams or patients with limited mobility.

The practice employs five dentists, two dental hygienists, two dental nurses, one trainee dental nurse and a practice manager.

The practice’s opening hours are between 8:30am and 5:30pm from Monday to Friday.

There are arrangements in place to ensure patients receive urgent medical assistance when the practice is closed. This is provided by an out-of-hours service, via 111.

The principal dentist is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.

Before the inspection, we sent CQC comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We received feedback from 30 patients via comment cards or on the day. These provided a positive view of the services the practice provides. Patients commented on the high quality of care, the caring nature of all staff, the cleanliness of the practice and the overall high quality of customer care.

Our key findings were:

• We found that the practice ethos was to provide patient centred dental care in a relaxed and friendly environment.
• Effective leadership was provided by senior clinicians and a trio of empowered practice managers.
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was well maintained.
• Infection control procedures were robust and the practice followed published guidance.
• The practice had a safeguarding lead with effective processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• There was a process in place for the reporting and shared learning when untoward incidents occurred in the practice.
• Dentists provided dental care in accordance with current professional and National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• The service was aware of the needs of the local population and took these into account in how the practice was run.
• Patients could access treatment and urgent and emergency care when required.
• Staff received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD) by the practice.
• Staff felt well supported by the senior clinicians and practice manager. They were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.
• Patient feedback before and during our inspection gave us a positive picture of a friendly, caring, professional and high quality service.

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

• Consider the provision of an external name plate providing details of the dentists working at the practice including their General Dental Council (GDC) registration number in accordance with GDC guidance March 2012. This should also be included in practice information leaflets, the practice website and NHS Choices website.
• Review the Business Continuity Plan and keep a copy off site.
• Review the opening hours on NHS Choices and practice information literature.