We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 7 April 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

Solutions Dental Clinic is a new dental practice, which opened in July 2015 providing private treatments for adults. The practice offers a range of cosmetic and dental procedures.

The practice is situated in a converted domestic dwelling in Winchester. The practice has a large modern reception area with coffee machine and television. It has two large modern air conditioned dental treatment rooms. There is a separate decontamination room used for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. There is a dental laboratory for making and altering dentures on site. The practice is based on the ground floor and has wide accessible rooms with adjustable chairs.

Patients can have treatment in wheelchairs, where the equipment will move around them.

The practice has been awarded a Silver Award for accessibility by Winchester Area Accessibility for All. (WAAFA)

The practice employs one dentist, one clinical dental technician (CDT) and two dental nurses, who share reception responsibilities. They aim to employ a dental hygienist as part of their business plan. The dentist speaks five languages including Bulgarian Russian and Polish.

The practice is open 8am to 5.30pm every day; with appointments available from 8.30am until 5pm. Saturday appointments and Thursday evening appointments are available by appointment.

There are arrangements in place to ensure patients receive urgent dental assistance when the practice is closed. The practice answerphone provides details of the NHS111 service and also the telephone number of the dentist on call during the out of hours period..

There are around 180 patients registered with this practice and the majority are retired or older people who require specialist denture support. Walk-in patients were observed on the day of inspection.

The business owner, a clinical dental technician 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.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission comment cards to the practice for patients to complete in order to tell us about their experience of the practice. We received feedback from 24 patients. All of these provided a positive view of the services that the practice provides.

Patients commented on the helpful, polite and friendly nature of staff. The patients commented on the inclusive manner of the dentist and the high quality of care received. There were positive comments about the cleanliness of the practice and how easy it was to get an immediate appointment.

Our inspection was carried by a lead inspector and a dental specialist advisor.

Our key findings were:

• All permanent staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.

• The practice appeared clean and maintained throughout.

• Infection control procedures followed published guidance.

• The practice had a safeguarding lead with processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.

• Staff reported incidents and kept records of these which the practice used for shared learning.

• Dentists and technicians provided dental care in accordance with current professional and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to guide their practice.

• The service was aware of the needs of the local population and took these into account in how the practice was run.

• The practice has been awarded a Silver Award for accessibility by Winchester Area Accessibility for All. (WAAFA)

• Patients could access treatment and urgent and emergency care when required.

• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development by the registered manager.

• Staff we spoke to felt supported by the registered manager and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.

• Information from 24 patients gave us a positive picture of a caring, friendly and professional service.

• The manager provided effective leadership and an open team working ethos for staff working at the practice.

• The practice had in place a complaints policy but had not received any complaints.
• The practice had invested in a governance system to enable them to manage the practice policy and procedures effectively.

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

• Review the practice health promotion policy taking into account the Delivering Better Oral Health Toolkit.
• Review the referral process and consider sharing a copy of any specialist referral letters with the patient.