We carried out this announced inspection on 12 June 2018 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.

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

Bath Road Dental Surgery is in Worcester and provides private treatment to adults and children.

There is level access at the rear of the building for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including availability for blue badge holders, are available in the dedicated practice car park to the rear of the building.

The dental team includes two dentists, two qualified dental nurses, one trainee dental nurse and one receptionist. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. Registered managers have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run. The registered manager at Bath Road Dental Surgery was the principal dentist.

On the day of inspection we collected 47 CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, one dental nurse and the trainee dental nurse. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared 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.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• 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 was providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• 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.
• The practice had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Review its responsibilities to the needs of people with a disability, including those with hearing difficulties and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.
• Review the practice's systems for checking and monitoring equipment taking into account relevant guidance and ensure that all equipment is well maintained. In particular ensuring five yearly fixed wire testing and air conditioning unit servicing is completed.
• Review the practice's recruitment policy and procedures to ensure accurate, complete and detailed records are maintained for all staff.

The practice had one senior dentist and one part time associate dentist, one full time and two part time dental nurses and a receptionist. Dental hygiene was provided by the dentists.

Following the inspection we spoke by telephone with six people who had attended the practice. The information provided to us indicated that people were happy with the quality of assessments and treatments they received. They felt they had been given enough information about their treatment options. One person said: "Just had treatment, they gave me two options and X (dentist) explained everything". Another person told us: "We are definitely given options and they ask me what I want to do".

We saw that the practice was very clean so that the risks of infection were minimised. There was a system in place for people to make complaints if they were not happy with any aspect of the service. We saw that the practice had not received any formal complaints during the last 12 months. Each of the six people we spoke with told us they had never had cause to make a complaint.