We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 26 November 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

AS Dental Practice is located in the London Borough of Croydon and provides predominantly NHS dental services. The demographics of the practice were mixed, serving patients from a range of social and ethnic backgrounds.

The practice staffing consists of six dentists, four dental nurses, a hygienist, three receptionists and a practice manager.

The practice is open from 9.00am to 5.30pm on Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays, Tuesday from 9.00am to 7.00pm and Friday from 8.00am to 2.00pm. The practice facilities include six consultation rooms (two downstairs and four upstairs), a reception area, patient waiting room, decontamination room, staff room/administration office. The premises are wheelchair accessible however there are no wheelchair accessible toilets.

The practice manager 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 inspection took place over one day and was carried out by two CQC inspectors and a dentist specialist advisor.

We received 24 completed Care Quality Commission comment cards and spoke with three patients during our inspection. Patient feedback was very positive about the service. Patients told us that staff were professional and caring and treated them with respect. They described the service as very good and providing an excellent standard of care. Information was given to patients appropriately and staff were helpful.

Our key findings were:

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned in line with current guidance.
• Patients were involved in their care and treatment planning so they could make informed decisions.
• Appropriate systems were in place to safeguard patients from abuse
• There were effective processes in place to reduce and minimise the risk and spread of infection.
• There were appropriate equipment and access to emergency drugs to enable the practice to respond to medical emergencies. Staff knew where equipment was stored.
• All clinical staff were up to date with their continuing professional development. Opportunities existed for staff to develop, however they were limited
• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was maintained appropriately.
• Appropriate governance arrangements were in place to facilitate the smooth running of the service; however audits completed did not fully demonstrate continuous improvements.

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

• Review its audit protocols to ensure audits of various aspects of the service, such as radiography and dental care records are undertaken at regular intervals to help improve the quality of service. Practice should also ensure all audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.
• Review the training, learning and development needs of individual staff members at appropriate intervals and ensure an effective process is established for the on-going assessment, supervision and appraisal of all staff.

People who use the service told us that staff were always friendly and were always helpful.

People told us their treatment and the cost of treatment was always explained to them. They told us their privacy was always respected.

People also told us that each time they visited, the dentist always asked for an update on their medical conditions and medications.

One person told us they had been coming to the practice for over twenty years and they were very happy with the treatment they had received throughout that time.

A new patient told us it was easy to make appointments and they were very impressed by the practice.

People told us that the environment was comfortable and always very clean and well maintained.