We carried out this announced inspection on 9 April 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 this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

Genix Healthcare Blackpool is in North Blackpool and provides NHS and private dental treatment to patients of all ages. The dental practice also provides supervised training to final year dental students.

The practice is situated on the second floor of a purpose-built medical centre and has five treatment rooms. There is lift access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including spaces for blue badge holders, are available at the practice.

The dental team includes a locum dentist, dental therapist, six dental nurses and a practice manager. There are six final year dental students who work part-time Monday - Wednesday. The students have a clinical supervisor.

The practice is owned by on organisation 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 Genix Healthcare Blackpool was the practice manager.

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

During the inspection we spoke with the locum dentist, two dental nurses, and the practice manager. The inspection was supported by the operations manager from the organisation.

We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9.00am – 5.00pm.
• Thursday 9.00am – 7.00pm

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 practice 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 dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The practice had suitable information governance arrangements.

We spoke with several people using the service about their experiences whilst visiting the dental practice. We spoke to a person who was receiving treatment at the surgery and also by telephone to a number of other patients. Without exception we were told that patients found the staff team to be polite, caring, friendly, and that people were treated sensitively and with respect.

Comments included”. They do everything well. They take time to explain everything”. This same person described how the dentist had allayed his fears about a specific procedure by spending a lot of time explaining the process, allowing the person to make an informed choice.

People we spoke with told us that they felt safe when care and treatment was being delivered. They said they had every confidence in the staff team and felt able to discuss any concerns with any of the people working at the dental practice.

We noted that the dental practice appeared very clean and well maintained. Every person that we spoke with commented favourably on the cleanliness of the practice. One person told us, “Everything is always very clean. If it wasn’t I would not go”.

When asked, one person told us that there was nothing he could think of that could be improved.