We carried out this announced inspection on 12 July 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.

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

Bhandal Dental Practice – Ombersley Road is in Worcester and provides predominantly NHS treatment with some private treatment options to patients of all ages.

The practice is accessed via a ramp giving access to the ground floor for patients who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. The building is split over three storeys. The ground floor of the practice consists of a reception area, a waiting room, and one dental treatment room. On the first floor there is a decontamination room for the cleaning, sterilising and packing of dental instruments, two dental treatment rooms and toilet facilities. In the basement there is a staff kitchen. There are no car parking spaces directly outside the building however parking on local streets is permitted. This practice is in a group with over 40 other midlands based practices where patients can be seen if they require disabled access and facilities that are not available at this practice.

The dental team includes three dentists, four qualified dental nurses, two trainee dental nurses, one receptionist and a practice manager. The dental team are further supported by a dedicated team based in their Head Office in Cradley Heath. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a partnership 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. At the time of the inspection the practice did not have a registered manager in post as the provider was submitting an application to register the practice manager.

On the day of inspection we collected 48 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and reviewed the most recent practice survey results. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, one qualified dental nurse, one trainee dental nurse, one receptionist, the clinical governance manager for the business and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Thursday – 9am to 6pm

Friday – 9am to 5.30pm

Saturday – 9am to 12.30pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice was clean and well maintained.
• The practice had well organised systems to assess and manage infection prevention and control which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems including audits to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services provided.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures to help them ensure the suitability of staff they employed.
• 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 appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership. Staff felt involved 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 one senior dentist, a full time and a part time dentist, a practice manager, five dental nurses and a receptionist.

This inspection was discussed and arranged with the practice a few days in advance. This was to ensure that we had time to see and speak with staff working at the practice.

The senior dentist was not available during our inspection. We spoke with the practice manager, two dental nurses and a trainee nurse. We did not have the opportunity to talk with people who were attending the practice. We were provided with 27 questionnaires that people had completed within the few days leading up to our inspection.

The information provided to us indicated that people were happy with the quality of treatment they received. They felt they had been given enough information about their treatment options and the relevant fees. The completed questionnaires confirmed that people were able to ask any questions they wanted to. Comments received from the questionnaires included, 'Friendly, professional staff and dentists' and 'Can get appointments to suit.' We found that people received treatments that reflected

their needs and choices.

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 noted that the practice had received very few complaints.