We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 1 June 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 offers both NHS and private primary care dentistry to both adult patients and children.

The practice is open Monday to Friday from 09.00 to 5.00pm. At present there are no late night openings.

There is one dentist, one dental therapist, two trainee dental nurses and a practice manager who is also a dental nurse. A new receptionist has been appointed and is due to commence work 6 June 2016. The qualified dental nurse had been off work due to sickness. On Monday 30 May 2016 the nurse handed in her notice with immediate effect and did not return back to work. This has left the practice short staffed but emergency staffing arrangements ensured that there was the correct number of suitably qualified staff in the surgery. The dentist was a locum who was contracted to work in the practice for six weeks.

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.

On the day of inspection we received 21CQC comment cards providing feedback. The patients who provided feedback were very positive about the care and attention to treatment they received at the practice. They told us they were involved in all aspects of their care and found the staff to be kind, polite and considerate. Patients commented they could access emergency care easily and they were treated with dignity and respect in a clean and tidy environment. There were negative comments regarding the consistency of the dentist and the rescheduling of appointments at short notice.

Our key findings were:

• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was well maintained.
• There was an effective complaints system.
• Staff had received safeguarding training, knew how to recognise signs of abuse and how to report it.
• 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 accordance with the published guidelines.
• Patient care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with evidence based guidelines 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.
• Patients could access routine treatment and urgent care when required.
• The practice was well-led, staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The governance systems were effective.

We spoke with three people when we inspected the practice who all commented they were very happy with the service. They all said they saw the dentist regularly and felt the care they received was excellent.

People told us that the dentists always explained what they were doing, what they had found during examination and what the treatment options were. They confirmed they had received information to enable them to decide upon treatment options.

People we spoke with confirmed that the practice appeared very clean and staff always wore protective equipment when treating them. Feedback received from people during the inspection confirmed that people were happy with the service they receive.

One person we spoke with told us:

“I would not go anywhere else, I feel completely at ease here. I always get a good explanation of what treatment is needed. The practice is efficient and well run.”

Another said “I have no problems in seeing the dentist, they always tell me what is the problem and discuss the best way to fix it.”