We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 29 March 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

The practice offers NHS primary care dentistry to adult patients and children. The practice is owned by the two principal dentists. There are two dentists, one foundation dentist, three dental nurses, two receptionists and two trainee dental nurses.

The practice is open Monday to Thursday from 8.45am to 5.30pm, and Fridays from 8.45am to 5.00pm. The practice is closed from 12.30pm until 2.00pm to allow staff to have lunch and prepare for the afternoon session.

There is an identified registered person for the practice. 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.

One of the principle dentist acts as 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.

Before the inspection 45 patients provided feedback about the service. All of these were very positive about the practice.

Our key findings were:

• There was an effective complaints system.
• Staff had received safeguarding training, knew how to recognise signs of abuse and how to report it.
• There was sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
• Staff had been trained to manage medical emergencies.
• Infection control procedures were in accordance with the published guidelines.
• Patient care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with evidence based guidelines and current regulations.
• Patients received clear explanations about their proposed treatment, costs, benefits and risks and were involved in making decisions about it.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect and confidentiality was maintained.
• Patients could access urgent care when required.
• The practice was well-led, staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The governance systems were effective.
• The practice sought feedback from staff and patients about the services they provided.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Introduce a system which ensures that all policies, risk assessments and safety checks are monitored and updated as appropriate.
• Review the procedure for obtaining and storing recruitment documentation and training certificates to enable the review of such documents to take place to identify any gaps.

We spoke with people using this service on the day of our visit. They told us that they were pleased with the care and treatment and staff were professional, friendly and treated them with respect.