We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 21 October 2015 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 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

Honeycomb Dental Clinic was taken over by the current provider in April 2015. It offers 80% NHS and 20% private dental care services to patients of all ages. The services provided include a broad range of conventional diagnostic, preventative and restorative treatment. The practice has two treatment rooms, a waiting area and a local decontamination unit. The waiting room and one of the treatment rooms is on the ground floor, with a second treatment room and the decontamination unit on the first floor of the premises.

The practice has two dentists, a dental therapist/hygienist, two qualified dental nurses a practice manager and three part time receptionists. The principal dentist is the 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 is open Monday to Friday from 9.00am until 1.00pm and 2.00pm until 5.30pm.

We reviewed 28 CQC comment cards that had been left for patients to complete, prior to our visit, about the services provided. In addition we spoke with four patients on the day of our inspection. Feedback from patients was positive about the care they received from the practice. They commented staff put them at ease, listened to their concerns and they had confidence in the dental services provided. They told us the practice had improved both in the environment and in the dental care provided since April 2015.

Our key findings were:

• The practice carried out oral health assessments and planned treatment in line with current best practice guidance, for example from the Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP). Patient dental care records were detailed and showed on-going monitoring of patients’ oral health.

• There were systems in place to help ensure the safety of staff and patients. These included safeguarding children and adults from abuse, maintaining the required standards of infection prevention and control and responding to medical emergencies.

• Staff were supported to maintain their continuing professional development; had undertaken training appropriate to their roles and told us they felt well supported to carry out their work.

• Patients commented they felt involved in their treatment and that it was fully explained to them. We reviewed 28 CQC comment cards completed by patients. Common themes were patients felt they received very good care in a clean environment from a helpful practice team.

• The practice had an efficient appointment system in place to respond to patients’ needs. Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed. There were clear instructions for patients regarding out of hours care.

• The dental practice had effective clinical governance and risk management processes in place; including health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.

• The practice had a comprehensive system to monitor and continually improve the quality of the service; including through a detailed programme of clinical and non-clinical audits.

The practice had an accessible and visible leadership team with clear means of sharing information with staff.