We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 5 May 2015.

The practice employs five dentists, one hygienist, three dental nurses, a practice manager and three receptionists. All staff work flexible part time hours to meet the needs of patients and the business. The practice also has a 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.

The practice provides primary dental services to private patients only. The practice is open between 9am and 8pm Monday to Friday and between 9am and 4pm on Saturdays for pre-booked appointments.

We spoke with six patients during the inspection. They told us that they were very satisfied with the services provided, that the dentists provided them with clear explanations about their care and treatment and that staff listened and treated them with care, dignity and respect.

We viewed CQC comment cards that had been left for patients to complete, prior to our visit, about the services provided. There were 36 completed comment cards and all of them reflected positive comments about the staff and the services provided. Patients commented that the practice was clean and hygienic and that the premises were good. They also said that they found it easy to book an appointment and the quality of the dentistry treatments and advice they received was excellent. Patients said explanations given about their treatments were clear and that the staff were kind, caring and reassuring.

The provider was providing care which was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led and the regulations were being met.

Our key findings were:

• The practice recorded and analysed significant events and complaints and cascaded learning to staff.
• Where mistakes were made patients were notified about the outcome of any investigation and given a suitable apology.
• Staff had received safeguarding and whistleblowing training and knew the processes to follow to raise any concerns.
• There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were readily available.
• Infection control procedures were in place and the practice followed published guidance.
• Patient’s care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with evidence based guidelines, best practice and current legislation.
• 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.
• The appointment system met the needs of patients and waiting times were kept to a minimum.
• There was an effective complaints system and the practice was open and transparent with patients if a mistake had been made.
• The practice was well-led and staff felt involved and worked as a team.
• Governance systems were effective and there was a range of clinical and non-clinical audits to monitor the quality of services.
• The practice sought feedback from staff and patients about the services they provided and acted on these to improve patient’s experience.

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

• Ensure the complaints procedure is updated to include timescales for investigating and responding to these; and details of how to patients may escalate complaints should they remain dissatisfied with the outcome.

• Ensure that patient records are maintained consistently with detailed descriptions of assessments and treatments carried out and the advice given to patients.