We carried out this announced inspection on 13 March 2019 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

Burnt Oak Dental Practice is in the London Borough of Harrow and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

There is access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs.

The dental team includes two principal dentists, five associate dentists, one hygienist, four dental nurses- two of whom undertook receptionist duties as well, one trainee dental nurse and a compliance manager

The practice is owned by a partnership and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. Registered managers 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 registered manager at Burnt Oak Dental Practice is the principal dentist

On the day of inspection, we collected 41 CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

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

The practice is open:

• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9am to 6pm
• Wednesday: 9am to 8pm

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 provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had thorough 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.
• Staff were providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of 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 practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The practice had suitable information governance arrangements.

We found patients who use the service understood the care and treatment choices available to them. One patient told us, “I have a regular dentist and have been using him for years; he is very good and explains the treatment clearly”.

We observed staff following best practice guidelines for surgical instrument decontamination and hygiene. Staff had been trained in infection control and dealing with emergencies to protect patients from risk of harm.

Staff had been trained on safeguarding and showed awareness of reporting procedures. The staff received appropriate support at work and we found staff were qualified to carry out their work and training had been undertaken in line with their professional development requirements.

There were effective systems in place for checking the quality of the service provided, and the provider acted on feedback from patients and made changes to improve the service.