We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 17 August 2016 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

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

Orchard Dental Centre is an NHS dental practice in Croydon. The practice is situated in a commercial unit. The practice has one dental treatment room and a separate decontamination room for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. In addition there is a reception and waiting area for patients.

The practice is open 9.00am – 1.00pm Monday and Tuesdays and from 9.00am – 5.00pm Wednesday to Friday. The practice has three dentists working over the course of a week and are supported by one dental nurse and a trainee dental. The dental nurses also provide reception duties.

The principal dentist is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as an individual ‘registered person’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We received feedback from 11 patients. These provided a positive view of the services the practice provides. Patients commented on the quality of care, the friendliness and professionalism of all staff, the cleanliness of the practice and the overall quality of customer care.

Our key findings were:

• We found that the practice ethos was to provide patient centred dental care in a relaxed and friendly environment.
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• Infection control procedures were robust and audits were being completed every 3 months.
• The practice had a safeguarding lead with information available to staff to refer to, although some information was out of date and did not reflect up to date guidance..
• The practice had a system in place for reporting incidents which the practice used for shared learning.
• Dentists provided dental care in accordance with current professional and National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• The service was aware of the needs of the local population and took these into account in how the practice was run.
• Patients could access treatment and urgent and emergency care when required.
• Staff recruitment files were organised and included relevant pre recruitment documents such as interview notes and references.
• There was a structured approach to learning and development and staff had the opportunity to attend learning and training events.
• Staff we spoke with felt well supported by the practice owner and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.
• Feedback from patients gave us a positive picture of a friendly, caring, professional and high quality service.

People who use the service were given appropriate information and support regarding their care or treatment. People’s views and experiences were taken into account in the way the service was provided and delivered in relation to their care.

We reviewed ten people's treatment plans and saw that people’s needs were assessed and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. People were satisfied with the standard of service and their treatment. One person told us, “it’s very good here.” Another person told us, “I can get an appointment when I need one. So far I’m happy.”

We found there were effective systems in place to minimise the risk and spread of infection and people were protected from the risk of infection because appropriate guidance had been followed.

The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive. The provider had an effective system in place to identify, assess and manage risks to the health, safety and welfare of people who use the service and others.

We reviewed a variety of records and found that people were protected from the risks of unsafe or inappropriate care and treatment because accurate and appropriate records were maintained.