We carried out this announced inspection on 5 November 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

Brooklyn Court Dental Practice is in Withington, Manchester and provides NHS and private treatment for adults and children.

There is level access to the rear of the property for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. A car park and additional on street parking are available near the practice.

The dental team includes the principal dentist and three associate dentists who work at the practice part time, two part time dental hygiene therapists, four dental nurses (one of whom is a trainee), and a practice manager. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist. They have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.

On the day of inspection, we collected 35 CQC comment cards filled in by patients, and received positive feedback from three patients who contacted the CQC through the ‘share your experience’ facility online.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, two dental nurses 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 to Thursday 8:45am to 5pm

Friday 8.45am to 1pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were broadly in line with national guidance.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• The practice staff had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• Improvements could be made to 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 provider 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 provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Review the practice's recruitment policy and procedures to ensure accurate, complete and detailed records are maintained for all staff, including appropriate checks of professional registration and immunity for clinical staff.

• Review the practice's Legionella risk assessment and implement any recommended actions, taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices, and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.’

• Review the practice's protocols and procedures to ensure staff are up to date with their highly recommended training and continuing professional development.

• Review the process to check equipment in the practice to manage medical emergencies taking into account the guidelines issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK) and the General Dental Council.

We spoke with people using this service on the day of our visit. They told us that they were very pleased with the care and treatment. They said the staff were very caring, supportive and treated them with respect.

They told us the practice was clean and easy to access. They said that they could always get emergency appointments and never waited too long to see the dentist at their appointments. They felt that their privacy was always maintained.