We carried out this announced inspection on 18 September 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 and Healthwatch that we were inspecting the practice. They did not provide any information.

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

The dental practice is located in Morden, in the London Borough of Merton and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. Parking is available in local nearby car parks and local transport links include bus and tube services.

The dental team includes two dentists, two dental nurses, one trainee dental nurse, one dental hygienist, a practice manager and a receptionist. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a company 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 Mydentist London Road Morden was the practice manager.

On the day of inspection we collected 44 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. This information generally gave us a positive view of the practice.

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

The practice is open: Tuesday and Wednesday from 9.00am to 7.00pm; Monday, Thursday and Friday from 9.00am to 5.30pm.

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.

Following our last visit to the practice on 9 May 2012, we identified that essential standards of quality and safety around cleanliness and infection control were not being met. We asked the provider to take action to achieve compliance.

We carried out a follow up visit to check on the actions taken by the provider to achieve compliance. We spoke with the registered manager who told us about the changes that were made in the practice following our last visit. We saw; regular checks had been introduced to ensure staff cleaned the practice regularly, agency staff when used by the practice had been asked to sign off daily cleaning checklists and new clinical waste bins had been introduced.

People we spoke with told us they were satisfied with the service they received. One person told us it was ‘very good here’. Another person said they used the practice as it was convenient and they could get appointments to suit them.

People told us practice staff were friendly and treated them with respect. People also said treatments they had were clearly explained to them. People said they felt safe and comfortable when they came for their treatments.

People told us the practice was a ‘nice and clean environment’. However other evidence did not fully support this.