We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 14 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.

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 Family Dental Practice is a general dental practice in Woodingdean, East Sussex offering NHS and private dental treatment to adults and children. The practice also offers domiciliary care to patients in their own homes.

The practice is situated in the centre of Woodingdean. The practice has two dental treatment rooms, a decontamination room for the cleaning, sterilising and packing of dental instruments and a reception and waiting area. All services are provided on the ground floor. The main entrance to the practice is fully accessible for patients with mobility difficulties.

The practice is open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm. The practice does not offer late evening or Saturday appointments at present.

The Family Dental Practice has two dentists (one of whom is the registered manager) and two dental nurses (one of whom is a trainee). 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 clinical team are supported by one receptionist. There was no hygienist in post at the time of inspection.

Before the inspection we sent CQC comments cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We collected 10 completed cards. These provided a positive view of the service the practice provides. Patients commented that staff were professional, caring and friendly. Patients wrote that their needs were met promptly with good care. Patients also commented that the environment was relaxed, safe and hygienic. We also spoke with four patients during our inspection who were highly satisfied of the treatment and support they received at the practice.

Our key findings were:

• The practice took into account patient feedback, comments and complaints.
• The practice was visibly clean and well maintained.
• Patients were highly satisfied with the treatment they received and were complimentary about staff at the practice.
• Staff received regular appraisals and felt well supported by their peers and managers.
• The practice ensured staff maintained the necessary skills and competence to support the needs of patients.
• At our visit we observed that staff were caring and friendly and put patients at ease.
• Patients’ dental records we reviewed did not provide evidence of pocket charts or bleeding/ plaque indices where the Basic Periodontal Examination (BPE) score indicated that this was necessary.
• Staff at the practice had a good awareness of the incident reporting process. However, a sharps’ injury from the previous day had not been reported.

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

• Maintain an accurate record of pocket charts or bleeding/ plaque indices for all patients where the BPE score would indicate that this is necessary.
• Consider a review of systems that are in place to detect, prevent and control the spread of healthcare associated infections, namely that of the correct storage of burrs and the use of personal protective equipment during the decontamination of instruments.
• Improve the processes and the sharing of information with staff regarding the reporting of sharps injuries.
• Review the availability of equipment to manage medical emergencies giving due regard to guidelines issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK), and the General Dental Council (GDC) standards for the dental team.