We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 29 September 2015 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

Alverna House Dental Practice offers mainly (95%) NHS dental care services to patients of all ages. The services provided include preventative advice and treatment and routine and restorative dental care. The practice has four treatment rooms, two waiting areas and a decontamination suite. Treatment and waiting rooms are on the ground and first floor of the premises.

The practice is a training practice for the Dental Foundation Training (DFT) scheme. DFT provides postgraduate dental education for newly qualified dentists in their first (foundation) year of practice; usually within general dental practices. The principal dentist is a trainer for the DFT scheme and provides clinical and educational supervision. The practice currently has one full time dentist who is in their first (foundation) year of practice.

The practice has four dentists, a dental therapist, six qualified dental nurses and two trainee dental nurses; in addition to an office/reception manager. 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.

The practice is open Monday to Thursday from 9.00am until 5.30pm and on Friday from 8.30am until 4.30pm.

We viewed 13 CQC comment cards that had been left for patients to complete, prior to our visit, about the services provided. In addition we spoke with five patients on the day of our inspection. We reviewed patient feedback gathered by the practice over the last 12 months. Feedback from patients was positive about the care they received from the practice. They commented that staff put them at ease and listened to their concerns and that they had confidence in the dental services provided.

Our key findings were:

• The practice carried out oral health assessments and planned treatment in line with current best practice guidance, for example from the Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP). Patient dental care records were detailed and showed on-going monitoring of patients’ oral health.

• There were systems in place to help ensure the safety of staff and patients. These included safeguarding children and adults from abuse, maintaining the required standards of infection prevention and control and responding to medical emergencies

• Staff were supported to maintain their continuing professional development (CPD), had undertaken training appropriate to their roles and told us they felt well supported to carry out their work.

• Patients commented they felt involved in their treatment and that it was fully explained to them. We reviewed 13 CQC comment cards that had been completed by patients. Common themes were patients felt they received very good care in a clean environment from a helpful practice team.

• The practice had an efficient appointment system in place to respond to patients’ needs. Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed. There were clear instructions for patients regarding out of hours care.

• The dental practice had well developed and effective clinical governance and risk management processes in place; including health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.

• The practice had a comprehensive system to monitor and continually improve the quality of the service; including through a detailed programme of clinical and non-clinical audits.
• The practice had an accessible and visible leadership team with clear means of sharing information with staff.

During our visit to Alverna Dental Practice we spoke to some of the people using the service. Some of the comments were:

"They are marvellous here",

"It's brilliant here; they know your name, very friendly and make you feel relaxed",

"The dentist goes through what treatment is needed and always explains what it means; it’s a two way communication. Definitely given choices and you are enabled to make the right decision",

"They know I have a slow heart beat and I am on medication. They are fully aware of my health and I have complete trust in them”,

”I am allergic to penicillin, which they are aware of and they check every time I come in. It's fantastic",

"I have always felt safe and confident with the treatment",

"You won't get any complaints, it’s fantastic",

"I am always asked to sign a consent form" and "I always have the same dentist. I feel safe and confident. Every single time they ask if there is any change in my medical history".