We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 15 July 2015 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.

The Dental Health Centre offers NHS and private dental care services to patients of all ages. The services provided include preventative advice and treatment and routine restorative and cosmetic dental care. The practice has waiting areas and treatment rooms on the ground floor and first floor.

The practice has five dentists, three whom work part time; they are supported by two dental hygiene therapists, dental nurses, receptionists and a practice manager. The principal dentist 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.

The practice is open on Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays between 8.30pm and 5pm with later opening on Wednesdays up to 6.45pm

We spoke with three patients who used the service on the day of inspection and reviewed 30 completed CQC comment cards. Patients we spoke with and those who completed comment cards were positive about the care they received about the service. Patients told us that they could get appointments that suited them, including same day appointments for urgent dental treatments. Patients commented very positively about all members of staff. They told us that dentists, dental nurses, receptionists and dental hygienists were always welcoming and helpful. They also reported that dentists and hygienists explained treatments in a way that they could understand, listened to them and were caring and kind.

Our key findings were:

• The practice investigated significant events and cascaded learning to staff. These events were logged, analysed or monitored to help improve safety.
• There were systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. We found all treatment rooms and equipment appeared clean. Dental instruments were cleaned and sterilised in line with current guidance.
• There were systems in place to check all equipment had been serviced regularly, including the suction compressor, autoclave, fire extinguishers, oxygen cylinder and the X-ray equipment. The temperature of the fridge used to store medicines were recorded and monitored to ensure that medicines were stored at suitable temperatures.
• Staff had received safeguarding children and adults training and knew the processes to follow to raise any concerns.
• Patient’s care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with evidence based guidelines, best practice and current legislation. The practice was making use of the Department of Health publication -‘Delivering Better Oral Health; a toolkit for prevention’ which is an evidence based toolkit to support dental practices in improving their patient’s oral and general health.
• The practice ensured staff maintained the necessary skills and competence to support the needs of patients.
• There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were readily available.
• 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.
• The appointment system met the needs of patients and waiting times were kept to a minimum.
• The practice had procedures for handling and responding to complaints and the practice was open and transparent with patients if a mistake had been made. The practice could be more proactive in dealing with and responding to negative feedback from patients.
• The practice was well-led and staff felt valued, involved and worked as a team. Staff meetings were not routinely held to help share information and learning.
• Governance systems were effective and there was a range of clinical and non-clinical audits to monitor the quality of services. The practice manager would benefit from protected time to focus on quality and governance areas as identified within the report.
• The practice sought feedback from staff and patients about the services they provided and acted on this to improve its services.

As part of this inspection we spoke with the provider, practice manager, assistant practice manager and two dental nurses. In addition we spoke with a total of eight patients (six adults and two children).

Patients spoken with told us that they were happy with the care and treatment they received at The Dental Health Centre. They told us that treatments were always explained to them in a way that they understood and that information about the options, benefits, risks and costs were available. We saw that a record was maintained in relation to each person's treatments and that appropriate checks were carried out as part of the treatment process.

The risks of cross infection were minimised through robust policies and procedures for cleaning and sterilising dental instruments, equipment and the general cleaning and maintenance within the dental practice.

Staff were supported and trained to meet the needs of patients and to maintain their professional registration with the General Dental Council (GDC).

There were appropriate arrangements for obtaining the views of people using the service and testing, monitoring and improving the quality and safety of the service provided.