We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 1June 2015 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

The practice is owned and run by an individual. They also run Breeze Dental at 1Burdon Lane Ryhope. Both practices are managed from the Chester Road location and follow the same policies and procedures. To cover both locations there are four dentists, three dental therapists, two qualified dentists undergoing supervised training in general practice, five extended duty dental nurses, 15 dental nurses and four trainee dental nurses. They are supported by an administration team which includes a business manager, practice manager, practice supervisor and practice principal.

The practice provides primary care dental services under the NHS (piloting the new contract) and privately. The pilots are exploring how the NHS can shift the focus of NHS dentistry towards prevention and oral health rather than focusing primarily on treatment and repair. There are approximately 7,916 NHS patients and 925 private patients.

The practice is open Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm and Friday 9am to 4.15pm for NHS patients. Private patients are able, by prior arrangement to access the services earlier or later on week days and Saturday mornings.

The owner, who is a dentist, is also the registered provider for the practice. 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.

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.

Eleven patients provided feedback about the service. All the comments were positive about the staff and the services provided. Patients commented that the practice was clean, they found staff friendly and professional the service was always excellent.

Our key findings were:

• There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
• Staff had been trained to manage medical emergencies.
• Infection control procedures were in place in accordance with the published guidelines.
• Patient care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with evidence based guidelines, best practice and current regulations.
• Patients received clear explanations about their proposed treatment, costs, benefits and risks and were involved in making decisions about it.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect and confidentiality was maintained.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The governance systems were effective.
• The practice was well-led and staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The practice sought feedback from staff and patients about the services they provided.
• There was an effective complaints system. The practice recorded complaints and cascaded learning to staff.
• Staff had received safeguarding training, knew how to recognise signs of abuse and how to report it.

Surveys carried out by the provider, showed people who used the practice were happy with the service provided. They felt they were given enough information about their treatment options and the relevant fees and were able to ask all the questions they wanted to. They found the staff friendly and reported that they were treated with respect and their privacy was maintained.