People that used the practice told us that they 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. Comments included, "I am very happy with the service", "I am treated like royalty" and "It has been a good experience; I have never been treated as well".

People found the staff to be 'friendly', 'helpful', 'polite' and 'attentive'. They said they 'felt safe', were treated with respect and their privacy was maintained. They said the practice was 'clean' and 'bright'.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 31 March 2016 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

The practice provides a range of private and child NHS dental services for patients in and around the Burnley area.

The dental practice is based on the ground and first floors of a converted building. There is a comfortable waiting room, and reception area, two treatment rooms, decontamination room, staff room/kitchen and office area.

The practice had a single handed dentist supported by a business manager, practice manager, senior dental nurse, dental nurse,  trainee dental nurse,  dental hygienist/therapist and receptionist.

The practice is open Monday –Thursday 8:40 am to 5.00pm and Friday 8:40am to 2pm.

The business 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.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We received feedback from 32 patients who all gave positive comments about the care and treatment they received at the practice. In addition we spoke with six patients on the day of our inspection. Feedback from patients was positive about the care they received from the practice.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had systems to assess and manage risks to patients, including infection prevention and control and health and safety.
• Premises were well maintained and a tour of the building confirmed that good cleaning and infection control systems were in place.
• There was appropriate equipment and access to emergency drugs to enable the practice to respond to medical emergencies. This included an automated external defibrillator. Staff had been trained to manage medical emergencies.
• There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• The dental practice had effective clinical governance and risk management structures in place.
• There were systems to monitor and continually improve the quality of the service; including through a programme of clinical and non-clinical audits.