Patients told us that the dental practice had always detailed their treatments, discussed what's required and provided a financial breakdown as for them to make an informed choice about the treatment available to them.

Patients made very positive comments about their experience of treatment at the dental practice, which included;

“We cannot praise them enough for the treatments we have received to date.”

“I have no hesitation in saying that this is a superb clinic with efficient and friendly staff.”

“The staff are really friendly, efficient and always make me feel very welcome. I no longer dread going to the dentist!”

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 16 March 2017 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

Gipsy Lane Advanced Dental Care provides private treatment for both adults and children. The practice is based in a converted domestic dwelling in Reading, a town situated in Berkshire.

The practice has six dental treatment rooms, five of which are based on the ground floor and one on the first floor. It also has a separate dedicated decontamination room used for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. The ground floor is accessible to wheelchair users, prams and patients with limited mobility.

The practice employs eight dentists, six dental hygienists, seven dental nurses of whom three are trainees, four reception staff and a practice manager. The practice offers general dentistry as well as a range of specialities including periodontics, endodontics and specialist cosmetic dentistry.

The practice’s opening hours are between 8am and 8pm on Monday to Thursday and 8am and 5pm Friday and Saturday.

There are arrangements in place to ensure patients receive urgent medical assistance when the practice is closed.

The practice manager is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

Our key findings were:

• We found that the practice ethos was to provide high quality specialist and general dental care in a relaxed and friendly environment.
• Effective clinical leadership was provided by the practice owner who was supported by an empowered practice manager.
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was well maintained.
• Infection control procedures were effective and the practice followed published guidance.
• The practice had a safeguarding lead with effective processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• There was a process in place for the reporting and shared learning when untoward incidents occurred in the practice.
• Dentists provided dental care in accordance with current specialist professional and National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• The service was aware of the needs of the local population and took these into account in how the practice was run.
• Patients could access treatment and urgent and emergency care when required.
• Staff received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD) by the company.
• Staff we spoke with felt well supported by the practice owner and practice manager and were committed to providing a high-quality service to their patients.
• Information from 21 completed Care Quality Commission (CQC) comment cards gave us a positive picture of a friendly, caring, professional and high quality service.