We carried out this announced inspection on 24 April 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

This Pearl Dental Practice is in Derby and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including spaces for blue badge holders, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes three dentists, one dental therapist, two qualified dental nurses, one trainee dental nurse, one receptionist and a practice manager. The practice has three treatment rooms, all of which are situated on the ground floor.

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 Pearl Dental Practice is the practice manager.

On the day of inspection we received feedback from ten patients. This gave us a positive view of the practice.

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

The practice is open: Monday: 9am to 5:30pm; Tuesday: 9am to 5:30pm; Wednesday: 9 am to 6:30 pm; Thursday: 9am to 6:30pm and Friday: 9am to 5:30pm. The practice is closed at the weekend.

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. 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 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.

As part of this inspection we spoke with five people who used the service and four members of staff including two dentists and the registered manager.

People we spoke with told us that they were very happy with the service and the care that was provided. People felt that they were given options about different treatments including costs and were given time to make decisions. One person described the provider as “very good”; another stated that they were “absolutely brilliant”.

Staff had an understanding of their responsibilities and the importance of infection control. However we found that the provider did not have a hand washing sink in the decontamination room which is required to minimise the risk of cross infection.

We found that the provider had not carried out sufficient pre-employment checks on all staff to ensure that staff were suitable to work in this environment.

The provider had quality assurance systems in place to help monitor the service provided.