We carried out this announced inspection on 14 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

Bond Street Dental Practice is in Redruth and provides NHS treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including spaces for blue badge holders, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes seven dentists, three dental nurses, three trainee dental nurses, one receptionist and a practice manager. The practice has four 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. The registered manager at Bond Street Dental Practice was the practice manager.

On the day of inspection we collected 18 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. This gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with four dentists, the dental nurses/trainee dental nurses on duty and one locum dental nurse, the receptionist, one of the company directors 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 Friday 8:30am – 5pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice leadership was encouraging a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems in place to help them manage risk, although some improvements could be made.
• The practice staff 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 appointment system met patients’ needs.
• A number of new staff appointments meant there was an enthusiastic staff team who worked well together.
• The practice asked patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice staff dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The practice staff had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Review the practice’s protocols for referral of patients and ensure urgent referrals are monitored suitably.
• Review the practice’s sharps procedures and ensure the practice is in compliance with the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.
• Review the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols to take into account guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices and have regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.’ In particular with reference to development of a written water line management schedule, adherence to the schedule for labelling of decontaminated laboratory work and pest avoidance management.