We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 8 August 2016 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

Baycliff dental practice offers mainly NHS treatment to patients of all ages and some private dental care services. The services provided include preventative advice and treatment and routine and restorative dental care. The practice has two dentists who are also the owners, a qualified dental nurse and a trainee dental nurse; in addition to a receptionist. One of the dentists is the practice manager.

The practice is in a single storey building and has a dental treatment room, a large waiting room and a reception area. There is wheelchair access and a large patient car park. Opening hours are from 9.00am until 5.30pm each week day.

One of the dentists 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.

We viewed 25 CQC comment cards that had been left for patients to complete, prior to our visit, about the services provided. We reviewed patient feedback gathered by the practice over the last 12 months. Feedback from patients was positive about the care they received from the practice. They commented that staff put them at ease, listened to their concerns and they had confidence in the dental services provided.

Our key findings were:

• We found the practice ethos was to provide patient centred dental care in a relaxed and friendly environment.
• The practice had systems to assess and manage risks to patients, including infection prevention and control, health and safety, safeguarding, recruitment and the management of medical emergencies.
• Dentists provided dental care in accordance with current professional and National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• Patients commented they felt listened to, were fully involved in their treatment and that they had confidence in the dental care provided.
• Patients were able to make routine or emergency appointments when needed. There were clear instructions for patients regarding out of hours care.
• The dental practice had effective clinical governance and risk management structures in place. There were systems to monitor and continually improve the quality of the service; including a programme of clinical and non-clinical audits.
• Staff told us they felt well supported and were comfortable to raise concerns or make suggestions.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD) by the practice owners.

• The practice had a safeguarding lead with effective processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.