We carried out this announced inspection on 3 October 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 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

Surgery House Dental Practice is in Yateley and provides private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces for blue badge holders, are available at the practice.

The dental team includes three dentists, two dental nurses and a trainee dental nurse. Nurses also cover reception duties. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.

On the day of inspection, we collected 49 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with nine other patients.

During the inspection we spoke with three dentists and two dental nurses. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open Monday to Wednesday between 8.00am and 5.00pm, Thursday between 9.00am and 6.00pm, Friday between 9.00am and 1.00pm (afternoon by arrangement) and Saturday by arrangement only,

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared 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 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 dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The practice had suitable information governance arrangements.

We spoke with four people who used this service during the inspection. People told us they were very satisfied with the care and treatment they had received. Their comments included;'It's brilliant kind and friendly' and 'I am always given enough information to make a decision and never rushed'. These comments reflected other people's views that they had been using the service for up to 25 years and they would not change their dentists as they were so satisfied.

We found that people were given appropriate information in a way they could understand prior to being asked to make a decision or to give their consent to treatment.

People's dental care needs had been assessed and care and treatment had been planned to meet their individual requirements. People had also been given advice about their oral health.

People commented on the cleanliness of the practice. One person said 'It is very clean and we are always asked to put on glasses and bibs for treatments'. We found that there were suitable systems in place for controlling the risk of infection and for maintaining a hygienic environment.

We found that staff had been recruited using a safe procedure which had included the checks which ensured they had the skills and experience for their roles.

We found people had been given opportunities to make comments or complaints with regards to the service but that no new complaints had been received.