We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 8 December 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 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

Baildon Dental Centre is situated in Baildon, West Yorkshire. It offers private dental treatments to adults and NHS dental treatment to children. The services include preventative advice and treatments and routine restorative dental care.

The registered provider has an expense sharing agreement with another registered provider who also works from the same premises.

The practice is situated on the first floor of a building above a row of shops. Access to the practice is from the rear of the building up a short flight of steps.

The practice has one surgery, a decontamination room, a waiting area and a reception area.

There is one dentist, one dental nurse and a receptionist who is shared with the other registered provider.

The opening hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8-30am to 5-00pm and Wednesday and Friday from 8-00am to 12-00pm.

The practice owner is the registered manager. 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.

On the day of inspection 24 patients provided feedback. The patients were positive about the care and treatment they received at the practice. They told us they were treated with dignity and respect in a clean and tidy environment, were informed of treatment options, were able to make appointments in a timely manner and were made to feel comfortable and relaxed.

Our key findings were:

• The premises was clean and hygienic.
• The practice had some systems in place to assess and manage risks to patients and staff including health and safety, and the management of medical emergencies. However staff were not fully aware of the process for reporting significant events.
• Treatment was generally provided in line with current best practice.
• Patients told us they were treated with kindness and respect by staff. Staff ensured there was sufficient time to explain fully the care and treatment they were providing in a way patients understood. Patients commented they felt involved in their treatment and that it was fully explained to them.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed.
• The practice had an effective complaints system in place.
• Staff were qualified and had received training appropriate to their roles.

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

• Review the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols with regards to the manual scrubbing of dirty instruments and the storage of instruments giving due regard to the guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices and The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.’
• Improve staff awareness of the process for reporting significant events including documenting, investigating and taking the appropriate action to prevent it happening again.
• Review the practice’s protocols for the use of rubber dam for root canal treatment giving due regard to guidelines issued by the British Endodontic Society.
• Review the practice’s protocols and procedures for promoting the maintenance of good oral health giving due regard to guidelines issued by the Department of Health publication ‘Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention.’

People using the services were happy with the treatment they receive and have always been fully informed about the treatment options available to them.