We carried out this announced inspection on 21 July 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 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

Safe Dental is in the Morley area of Leeds, West Yorkshire and provides private treatment to adults and children. Treatments include general dentistry, dental implants and conscious sedation.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including one for patients with a disabled badge are available near the practice.

The dental team includes two dentists, a trainee dental nurse, a clinical dental technician (who is the practice manager) and an assistant practice manager. The practice has one treatment room.

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 Safe Dental was the clinical dental technician.

On the day of inspection we collected 23 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, the trainee dental nurse, the assistant practice manager and the registered manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday and Wednesday from 7:00am to 5:00pm

Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm

Dentists only work on Monday, Wednesday and Friday

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 medical emergencies. Minor adjustments could be made to the emergency equipment.
• The practice had some systems in place to manage risk. Improvements could be made to those relating to fire and sharps.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures. Minor improvements could be made to these.
• 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.
• There was not a system in place to ensure staff were up to date with training as recommended by the General Dental Council.
• The practice asked patients for feedback about the services they provided.

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

• Review the availability of equipment to manage medical emergencies giving due regard to guidelines issued by the Standing Dental Advisory Committee: conscious sedation in the provision of dental care “Report of an expert group on sedation for dentistry”.
• Review the practice’s sharps procedures giving due regard to the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.
• Review the practice’s process for ensuring equipment is serviced in line with manufacturer’s guidance.
• Review the system for ensuring fire safety checks are completed regularly.
• Review the storage of digital dental care records to ensure they are backed up securely.
• Review the practice's recruitment policy and procedures to ensure character references for new staff are requested and recorded suitably.
• Review the protocols and procedures to ensure staff are up to date with their training and their Continuing Professional Development.