We carried out this announced inspection on 16 November 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.

We told the NHS England area team that we were inspecting the practice. They had no information of concern.

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

Kings Avenue Dental Surgery is located in the London borough of Haringey and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.

Practice staffing consists of a principal dentist, four dentists, one hygienist, three dental nurses, two receptionists and a practice manager.

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.

The practice is open Monday to Thursday 9am to 6pm,Friday 8.30am to 3pm and Saturdays by appointment only 9am to 1pm

The practice facilities include three treatment room a decontamination room, X-ray room, reception/waiting area and a staff room.

On the day of inspection we collected feedback from 46 patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, one dentist, two dental nurses and the Practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

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.
• 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 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 dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.

The practice staff were friendly welcoming and informative. The practice was clean.

Patients felt that they had been given sufficient information about their care and treatment.

One patient told us that they had been a patient for 10 years and was "Happy as a patient here and that the dentist was always very good with the children", they told us that they had recommended the practice to family and friends.

The practice had received feedback from the NHS choices website which stated "The dentist I saw could not have been kinder'" and "Great service, speed, great communication and transparency about prices".

There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk of infection. The decontamination of instruments took place within the surgeries. Staff were able to describe the decontamination process to us and provide evidence to show that daily and weekly checks were carried out on the equipment.

The necessary checks had been carried out on prospective employees before they could start work and an induction programme was available for new members of staff.