We carried out this announced inspection 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. A CQC inspector, who was supported by a specialist dental adviser, led 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

Wensleydale Dental Practice is a well-established practice that provides NHS, Denplan and private treatment to adults and children. The team consists of a practice manager, eight dentists, three hygienists, and nurses and reception staff. The practice has nine treatment rooms and is open on Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 5pm and serves about 20,000 patients.

The practice is owned by an individual who is one of the principal dentists 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.

During the inspection we spoke with three dentists, the practice manager, two dental nurses, and reception staff. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed. We collected 30 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with five other patients during our visit.

Our key findings were:

• Information from 30 completed Care Quality Commission comment cards gave us a positive picture of a caring, professional and high quality service.

• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

• The practice had systems to help ensure patient safety. These included safeguarding children and adults from abuse, maintaining the required standards of infection prevention and control, and responding to medical emergencies.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with current best practice guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and other published guidance.

• Members of the dental team were up-to-date with their continuing professional development and supported to meet the requirements of their professional registration.

• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted upon. Communication systems between staff were good.

• The practice showed a strong commitment to learning and improvement.

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

• Review the practice’s system for the recording, investigating and reviewing incidents or significant events with a view to preventing further occurrences and, ensuring that improvements are made as a result.

• Review the current infection control protocols taking into account guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices..’

People we spoke with during our inspection told us they were treated very well by staff who were always polite and respectful. They told us they had been given suitable and informative details about the treatment that was available to them and that this had allowed them to make decisions about their care and treatment.

We found that the clinical notes included details of people's care, but had not consistently recorded at every appointment whether people had been asked about their health and medication.

Adequate infection control procedures were in place that complied with the appropriate guidance and this ensured that risks of cross infection were satisfactorily managed.