We carried out this announced inspection on 12 May 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 had remote access to 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

Pickering Dental Surgeries located in Islington, London provides NHS and private dental treatment to patients of all ages.

Practice staffing consists of the principal dentist, 12 associate dentists, two hygienists, 6 dental nurses, seven trainee dental nurses and a practice manager.

The principal dentist is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. 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.

The practice is open Monday to Fridays 9am to 5.30pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm

The practice facilities include 14 treatment rooms, three decontamination room, four waiting areas, reception area, X-ray room, two offices and staff room

On the day of inspection we collected 20 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice. Patients told us that they were happy with the treatment and advice they had received.

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

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.

People who spoke with us were happy with the quality of care and dental treatment offered by the dental practice. They told us that staff were polite and friendly. People also felt that they were provided with sufficient information about dental treatments on offer and about the revelant fees.

Some of the satisfaction questionnaires completeted by people who use the service included comments where patients felt that they would like the surgery to introduce an appointment system for those wishing to have a routine dental check-up or require an emergency visit. At the time our inspection the surgery operated an appointment system only for patients who required planned treatments.