We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 14 November 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

Clover Dental Care Limited is a dental practice providing private care for adults and children. Some treatment is provided under a fee per item basis and some under a dental insurance plan. The practice is situated in a converted property with all patient facilities on the ground floor.

The practice has three dental treatment rooms, There is a separate decontamination room where cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments takes place. There is also a reception and waiting area and other rooms used by the practice for office facilities and storage. The practice is open from 8.30am to 5.00pm on Monday to Thursday and 9.00am to 3.00pm on Fridays.

The practice has one dentist who is able to provide general dental services including endodontic (root canal) treatment and orthodontic treatment. They are supported by a lead dental nurse, four dental nurses who also carry out reception duties, a part time dental hygienist and a part time dental therapist.

The principal dentist 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. We also spoke with patients on the day of our inspection. We received feedback from 37 patients. These provided an overwhelmingly positive view of the services the practice provides. Patients commented on the high quality of care, the kind and caring nature of all staff, the cleanliness of the practice and the efficiency of all staff.

Our key findings were:

• Patients commented that they received excellent care, staff went out of their way to help, were professional and that appointments were flexible.

• The practice was visibly clean and well maintained.

• Infection control standards were in line with national guidance.

• The practice had available medicines and equipment for use in a medical emergency which were in accordance with national guidelines.

• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD).

• The practice had suitable facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. However the practice did not have access to a translation service or have a hearing loop to support patients with a hearing aid.

• There was a system to identify, investigate and learn from significant events. However a lack of understanding regarding significant events had resulted in events not being reported.

• Governance arrangements were in place for the smooth running of the service. However the practice did not have a system in place for receiving and acting on safety alerts but this was put in place on the day of our inspection.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review the practice's recruitment policy, procedures and the recruitment arrangements to ensure they are in line with Schedule 3 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 to ensure necessary employment checks are in place for all staff and the required specified information in respect of persons employed by the practice is held.
• Review the system for significant events to increase staff understanding in order to encourage reporting of significant events with a view to identifying opportunities for improvement.

• Review the availability of a hearing loop for patients with hearing difficulties and translation services for patients whose first language is not English.

Patients we spoke with said that treatment procedures and the costs were clearly explained to them. The dentist advised them of the options available and supported to make an informed choice in their subsequent treatment.

The told us that they were safe and if they had any concerns they would be confident in reporting the matter to the provider.

They told us that the surgery was very clean and that staff always wore protective clothing and gloves.