We carried out this announced inspection on 3 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

Family Dental Health Centre is in Wimbledon and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

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

The dental team includes three dentists, two dental nurses, two dental hygienist/ therapists, two receptionists and a practice manager. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.

On the day of inspection we received feedback from 20 patients through CQC comment cards filled in by patients and speaking with patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, two dental nurses, the dental hygienist/ therapist 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 8.00am to 5.30pm, Tuesday 9.00am to 5.30pm, Wednesday 8.30am to 5.30pm, Thursday 8.00am to 8.00pm, and Friday 8.00am to 5.00pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was 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 although the defibrillator pads had expired and they were awaiting new ones.
• 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 practice had staff recruitment procedures although they were not formalised in writing.
• 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 had systems to deal with complaints positively and efficiently.

People told us “dentists are approachable, friendly and helpful. They don’t use jargon” and “you get information to take away about your treatment. We saw evidence that people received appropriate advice and their views were sought when planning treatment.

People we spoke to said that they felt “confident and comfortable” with the standard of care and that the treatment they received was “wonderful.” We saw evidence that current research and people's lifestyle, history and symptoms were taken into account. There were arrangements in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies

We found that appropriate infection control guidance was followed, including regular staff training and audits.

Staff told us they felt supported to carry out their roles. We found that staff had access to practice meetings, annual appraisals and appropriate training and development.

We saw how the provider obtained the views of people who used the service and acted on them. We found examples of audits and monitoring tools to measure the quality of the service.