We carried out this announced inspection on 22 August 2017 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. The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

We told the NHS England area team and Healthwatch that we were inspecting the practice. We did not receive any information of concern from them.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it caring?

• Is it responsive to people’s needs?

• Is it well-led?

These questions form the framework for the areas we look at during 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

765 Dental Care is in Sheffield and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

There is ramp access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.

The dental team includes a principal and associate dentist, a dental hygiene therapist and five dental nurses; one dental nurse is a trainee and one is also the head receptionist. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist 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.

On the day of inspection we collected 28 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. This information gave us a very positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists and two dental nurses. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday and Tuesday 8:45am – 7pm

Wednesday and Thursday 8:45am – 5pm

Friday 8:45am – 4pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice was clean and well maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available. We identified minor adjustments were required to bring the checks in line with current guidelines.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk; we identified a minor area for improvement in relation to assessing the risk of household cleaning materials.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• The practice had appropriate staff recruitment procedures but the process for reviewing staff background checks could be improved.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership. Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

• Review the frequency of checking emergency medicines and equipment to bring the process in line with current guidelines.
• Review practice's recruitment procedures to ensure that appropriate background checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice.
• Review the practice's policy for use of household cleaning products identified under Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) 2002 Regulations to ensure a risk assessment is undertaken.
• Review the security of prescription pads in the practice and ensure there are systems in place to track and monitor their use.