We carried out this announced inspection on 21 May 2018 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We planned the inspection to check whether the registered provider was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations. The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it caring?

• Is it responsive to people’s needs?

• Is it well-led?

These questions form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.

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

Battersea Dental Practice is in Battersea and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

The dental team includes a dentist, a dental nurse, three trainee dental nurses and a practice manager. The practice has two treatment rooms.

On the day of the inspection, we collected 43 CQC comment cards and spoke with four patients.

During the inspection we spoke with a dentist, a dental nurse, a trainee dental nurse and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday  9- 6 pm

Tuesday 9-7.30 pm

Wednesday  9 – 6 pm

Thursday  9 – 7.30pm

Friday 9 – 6pm

Saturdays and late evenings (after 6pm)

By appointment only

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Most of the appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available. However, some improvements were required to the range of equipment available.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
• The practice had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children. However, some improvements were required to the process.
• The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• The practice was providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently but some improvements were required to the complaints policy.
• The practice had suitable information governance arrangements.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

• Review the practice’s complaint handling procedures and establish an accessible system for identifying, receiving, recording, handling and responding to complaints by service users.Review the practice’s arrangements for receiving and responding to patient safety alerts, recalls and rapid response reports issued from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and through the Central Alerting System (CAS), as well as from other relevant bodies, such as Public Health England (PHE).
• Review staff awareness of Gillick competency and ensure all staff are aware of their responsibilities.

Battersea Dental Practice was a friendly and professionally managed dental service providing NHS and private dentistry. The practice provided a wide range of information about dental services and treatment costs. During our visit people we spoke with told us they were satisfied with the information they received. One person said "I am very satisfied the dentist always explains what treatment options there are and how much each will cost”.

We observed that care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people’s safety and welfare. We saw that there were arrangements in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies and that effective infection control systems were maintained to reduce the risk and spread of infection. Records we reviewed demonstrated that appropriate checks were undertaken before staff commenced employment and that dental staff were General Dental Council (GDC) registered. Results from patient satisfaction surveys indicated consistent and high satisfaction scores for each level of service measured. Comments made by people included "Quality of care is excellent"