We carried out a focused inspection of Wordsworth House Dental Practice on 13 November 2017.

The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

We carried out this inspection focusing only on the safe key question to check on information we had received relating to this aspect of care at this practice.

At a comprehensive inspection we always ask the following five questions to get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

When one or more of the five questions is not met we require the service to make improvements and send us an action plan. We then inspect again after a reasonable interval, focusing on the area where improvement was required.

At the previous comprehensive inspection we found the registered provider was providing effective, caring, responsive and well-led care in accordance with relevant regulations. We judged the practice was not providing safe care in accordance with regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can read our report of that inspection by selecting the 'all reports' link for Wordsworth House Dental Practice on our website www.cqc.org.uk.

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

The provider had made improvements to put right the shortfalls and deal with the regulatory breach we found at our inspection on 28 January 2015.

We found this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

The inspection took place on 28 January 2015 as part of our national programme of comprehensive inspections.

Wordsworth House Dental Practice provides private dental treatment to patients of all ages. The practice provides general dental services and specialist treatments such as implants. The practice team consists of the principal dentist, who is the registered manager and a part time dental therapist. The clinical team are supported by a dental nurse, a receptionist and a treatment coordinator. The practice manager fulfils the role of treatment coordinator and works at the practice part time to support the registered manager with the day to day running of the service.

The practice is housed in a converted three storey residential property. There are two treatment rooms one on the ground floor and one on the first floor. The reception and waiting area are on the ground floor with a dedicated decontamination room on the second floor.

During our inspection we spoke with two patients and reviewed one comment card, which a patient had completed in the week before our visit. Patients commented positively about the care and treatment they had received and the friendly professionalism of staff.

Our key findings were:

• All staff were kind and caring in the way they dealt with patients
• There was a regular schedule of staff meetings which included staff training.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments and patients were seen the same day if they had a dental emergency.
• There was clear leadership of the practice and staff told us they felt well supported and comfortable to raise concerns or make suggestions.

We identified regulations that were not being met and the provider must:

• Ensure infection prevention and control procedures are audited every six months to assess compliance with Department of Health guidance and take action when shortfalls are identified.
• Update the Infection Control Policy to provide staff with information which reflects current guidance.
• Provide a suitable decontamination area and equipment which meets the essential standards in the Department of Health guidance HTM01-05, to include providing staff with guidance and facilities for carrying out hand hygiene during the decontamination process.

You can see full details of the regulations not being met at the end of this report

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

• Ensure all policies are dated and regularly reviewed to reflect current practices and procedures.
• Ensure the Health and Safety Executive are notified of the practice’s use of ionising radiation to conform with the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations.

• Have available a copy of local rules with each X-ray set to give easily accessible guidance to staff.

• Ensure an automated external defibrillator (AED) is available as part of the emergency equipment kept at the practice.

During this visit we were able to speak with five patients who used the practice, the practice manager, the dental nurse and the hygienist.

Patients told us that they were very satisfied with the treatment they had received. They were treated with respect and courtesy. One patient said: " I feel safe," another said " the surgery is always clean, it's spotless".

We saw that decontaminated instruments were stored in sealed and appropriately dated packaging. We saw that the practice had a robust infection control policy and staff told that they understood the need for the policy.

The inside of the premises was light and welcoming. It was suitably designed and adequately maintained which promoted people's dignity and wellbeing. The practice had a separate consulting room in which patients could discuss treatment or matters in private.

The provider had appropriate systems in place for gathering, recording and evaluating information about the quality and safety of care the service provided.