We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 28th February 2017 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

Williams Dental Practice is a dental practice providing NHS and private treatment for both adults and children. The practice is based in a converted domestic dwelling in Hungerford, Berkshire.

The practice has one dental treatment room, based on the ground floor and one separate decontamination room. The ground floor is accessible to wheelchair users, prams and patients with limited mobility.

The practice employs three dentists, three dental hygienists, three dental nurses, one trainee dental nurse, two reception staff and a practice manager.

The practice’s opening hours are between 7:45am and 6:30pm on Monday to Friday and some Saturdays between 07:45am and 2:45pm.

There are arrangements in place to ensure patients receive urgent medical assistance when the practice is closed. This is provided by an out-of-hours service.

The Practice owner is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the CQC 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.

Our key findings were:

• We found that the practice ethos was to provide patient centred dental care in a relaxed and friendly environment.
• Effective leadership was provided by the practice owners and an empowered practice manager.
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was well maintained.
• Infection control procedures were effective and the practice followed published guidance.
• The practice had a safeguarding lead with effective processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• There was a process in place for the reporting and shared learning when untoward incidents occurred in the practice.
• Dentists provided dental care in accordance with current professional and National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• The service was aware of the needs of the local population and took these into account in how the practice was run.
• Patients could access treatment and urgent and emergency care when required.
• Staff received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD) by the company.
• Staff felt supported by the senior clinicians and practice manager and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.
• Information from 19 completed CQC comment cards gave us a positive picture of a friendly, caring, professional and high quality service.