We carried out this announced inspection on 2 May 2017 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

The Burges Road Dental Practice in East Ham, London provides NHS dental treatment and urgent out of hour care to patients of all ages.

Practice staffing consists of the two principal dentists, six associate dentist, one hygienist, 10 dental nurses, one receptionist and one support staff.

Both of the principal dentists are the registered managers. 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.

The practice is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, and Saturday 9am to 4pm. Out of hour’s service can be arranged through the NHS 111 service.

The practice facilities include Eight treatment rooms, a decontamination room, reception/waiting area office/X-ray room and staff room a practice training room and a health promotion room

On the day of inspection we collected 21 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice. Patients told us that they were happy with the treatment and advice they had received.

During the inspection we spoke with the both principal dentists, two associate dentists, and three dental nurses. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

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. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• 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 appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership. 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.
• The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures. However improvements could be made

Burges Road Dental Practice served a widely diverse population and people’s care and treatment was delivered in a way that was intended to ensure their safety and welfare. One person said staff were “very caring and professional. You are not treated as a number and you get all the time you need.”

People were cared for in a clean, hygienic environment and there were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection.

There were effective recruitment and selection processes in place and appropriate checks were undertaken before staff began work.

People who use the service and their representatives were asked for their views about their care and treatment and they were acted on. We found people were generally satisfied with the service and their care and treatment. One person wrote “Dr Mirza so calming and understanding. I am a very nervous patient and he was brilliant with me.”