We carried out this announced inspection of Oasis Dental Care (Central) Limited – Beckenham 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 Care Quality Commission (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

Oasis Dental Care (Central) - Beckenham is located in the London borough of Bromley and provides private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. Restricted car parking spaces, including those for patients with disabled badges, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes four dentists, a locum dental hygienist, a qualified lead dental nurse, two qualified dental nurses, and a trainee dental nurse. There is a practice manager and a receptionist.

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. At the time of the inspection the practice did not have a registered manager in post.

On the day of inspection we collected feedback from 14 patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with the lead dentist, three dental nurses and the practice manager. We checked practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open at the following times:

Monday: 9am-8pm

Tuesday: 12pm-8pm

Wednesday: 9am-5pm

Thursday: 8.30am-7pm

Friday: 9am-4.30pm

Saturday: According to demand, generally 9am-3pm/10am-4pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice was clean and well maintained.
• 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 had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance, though improvements could be made to ensure dental nurses assisting with procedures carried out under sedation received sedation training.
• Improvements could be made to ensure infection control audits were carried out six-monthly in line with national guidance.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

• Review staff training to ensure that dental nursing staff who are assisting with procedures carried out under conscious sedation have the appropriate training and skills to carry out the role, taking into account guidelines published by The Intercollegiate Advisory Committee on Sedation in Dentistry in the document 'Standards for Conscious Sedation in the Provision of Dental Care 2015.

• Review the practice's current audit protocols to ensure audits of key aspects of service delivery are undertaken at regular intervals. In particular this relates to infection control audits.