We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 21 September 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.

Background

The Dental Practice provides treatment to private patients with some NHS work for children under 18. The staff structure consists of one dentist, three part time dental nurses and a practice manager.

The practice was open from 9.00am to 17:45pm Monday to Friday. The practice was closed from 13:00 to 14:00 pm each day for lunch.

The practice is housed in a converted property across two floors. The reception, waiting area and treatment room are on the ground floor with a decontamination room on the first floor.

CQC received feedback from two people during the visit about the service. All the comments we received were positive about the service and patients felt that the staff were caring and took time to explain their treatment options and the costs involved. Patients had recommended the practice to family and friends. We received 51 responses from our own survey and the responses were positive with many complimentary comments and confirmation that the practice team were consistently good.

We saw that patients completed the practices own survey and the practice encouraged responses from family and friends survey. The results confirmed that overall patients were happy with the treatment received and would recommend the practice to others.

We found that this practice overall was providing safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

However there were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Ensure all recruitment records are in place.

People using the service told us they were satisfied with the care and treatment they received at The Dental Practice Brierfield. One person said, “It’s first class, you couldn’t find a better dentist.” Another person said, “They’re brilliant with the children and they’re not frightened.”

People said the dentist discussed treatment options with them including the cost. One person said, “They explain the treatment I need and the cost and why one option is more expensive than another.”

All the people we asked said the dental nurses were helpful and friendly.

Arrangements were in place to treat people in an emergency. One person said, “They fit you in if it’s an emergency.”

People were provided with detailed information about the practice and the level of fees.