We carried out this announced inspection on 17 April 2019 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

Mount Wise Dental Practice is in Plymouth and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

The practice is situated on the first floor of a Grade 2 listed building. Therefore, there are restrictions to changes of the building to make it accessible to wheelchair users. The practice is accessed by a flight of stairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.

The dental team includes three dentists, (the principal dentist, one foundation dentist, one occasional  locum dentist), a practice manager and four dental nurses. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a partnership 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 Mount Wise Dental Practice is the principal dentist.

On the day of inspection, we collected seven CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with two other patients. This gave us a positive impression of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists and four dental nurses. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open: Monday and Tuesday 9am – 5pm.

Wednesday 9am – 6pm.

Thursday 9am – 5:30pm.

Friday 8.30am – 5pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider 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.
• Staff were providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

We identified an area of notable practice.

• The practice staff had an established record of initiating, or participating in, a range of multi-agency local schemes to improve community oral health. Each year the practice reviewed available resources to plan how they could provide the local community with the tools needed to help improve their knowledge on the importance of good oral health. Notable practice occurred when; The whole staff team engaged in community based educational programmes focusing on eating disorder and oral health; The practice accommodated second year dental nurses from the Peninsula Dental School to give them the opportunity to learn the works or 'real practice'; The practice worked with a local GP to joint care plan for a vulnerable patient.