We carried out this announced inspection on 19 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 the Deputy Chief Inspector in General Practice, Dentistry and Integration and 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

The Private Dental Centre is in Northampton, a town in the East Midlands. It provides private treatment to adults and children.

There is two step access to the practice. The practice does not have patient car parking facilities, but public car parking spaces are available directly outside and also near to the practice.

The dental team includes six dentists, two clinical dental technicians, a specialist periodontist, a specialist orthodontist, a dental therapist, (who also works as the business manager) five dental nurses and a receptionist.

The practice currently has four treatment rooms; these are all located on the first floor. The practice has a lift installed for use by patients.

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 the Private Dental Centre is the dental therapist who also works as the business manager.

On the day of inspection we collected 17 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. We also received many positive comments from patients who contacted the CQC online to share their experience.

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

The practice is open: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8am to 5.30pm, Thursday from 8am to 7pm and Friday from 8am to 4pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The practice staff 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 staff 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 had systems to address complaints efficiently.
• The practice staff had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Review the practice’s protocols for recording in the patients’ dental care records or elsewhere the reason for taking X-rays in compliance with Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 and taking into account HPA-CRCE-010 Guidance on the Safe Use of Dental Cone Beam (Computed Tomography).
• Review the practice’s waste handling protocols to ensure waste is disposed of in compliance with the relevant regulations, and taking into account the guidance issued in the Health Technical Memorandum 07-01.