We carried out this announced inspection on 5 July 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

Crosland Moor Dental Clinic is in Huddersfield and provides NHS and private dental treatment to adults and children.

Access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs is possible through the back door. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.

The dental team includes two dentists, four dental nurses (two of whom are trainees), one dental hygiene therapist and a practice manager. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a company 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 Crosland Moor Dental Clinic was the principal dentist.

On the day of inspection, we collected 42 CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, 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 Wednesday and Friday from 8:45am to 5:30pm

Thursday from 8:45am to 12:30pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The practice staff had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance. Improvements could be made to the process for
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. On the day of inspection not all emergency equipment was available. Immediate action was taken to address this.
• The practice staff 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.
• The practice was providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership and 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 staff dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The practice staff had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Review the process for ensuring medical emergency equipment is in line with guidelines issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK) and the General Dental Council.
• Review the practice's Legionella risk assessment and implement monthly water temperature testing of the sentinel outlets.
• Review the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices. In particular, the process for carrying out the automatic control test on the autoclave.
• Review the practice’s arrangements for ensuring good governance is sustained in the longer term.

We spoke with one patient and they told us they had attended the practice for many years. They said the environment was always clean, the staff were friendly and approachable, and they always felt well looked after and had no complaints. The person also told us the dentist discussed and explained treatment options with them. They were asked at each visit if their medication or medical circumstances had changed since their last visit to the surgery, and they signed a consent form confirming they agreed to have their treatment carried out.