We carried out this announced inspection on 4 June 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 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

McVeigh Dental Care is in Ascot and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is level access to the reception and ground floor surgery for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including space for disabled patients, are available in a public car park opposite the practice.

The dental team includes two dentists, one dental nurse, two receptionists and a practice manager who also covers reception duties. 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 collected 45 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and obtained the views of eight other patients.

During the inspection we spoke with the principle dentist, a practice nurse and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 1pm on Friday.

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.
• 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.
• 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 seven people who were receiving treatment at the practice at the time of our visit. People praised the quality of care provided by the practice. They said staff were attentive, kind and friendly. One person said "I’ve been coming to this practice for 30 years. I always get excellent service." Another person told us “I have told others to come here as the service and quality of care is second to none”.

We found the provider met the outcomes we inspected and had systems in place to monitor its own performance against regulations. We saw that people were regularly asked to complete satisfaction questionnaires and to feedback about the quality of their treatment.

We saw consent was sought from people appropriately before treatment began. Detailed information was provided to people about their treatment options and the costs involved.

People told us they felt the practice gave them sufficient information about treatments to inform their decisions. Staff explained the risk and benefits of various treatments and provided information about the expected outcome.

People said the practice was always clean and well maintained. We saw that staff followed effective infection control procedures.

Staff told us they felt well supported by management and were offered appropriate training at regular intervals. We saw staff were appraised annually and attended regular team meetings that informed them of new policies, procedures and ways of working.