We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 9 October 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

Brightsmile Dental Care Isleworth is one of three dental practices owned by the the practice partners with all registered separately with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The premises consist of three treatment rooms and one dedicated decontamination room. There are public and staff toilet facilities, a waiting room and separate reception area, an administrative office and staff kitchen. At the time of our visit a building extension to the premises was under construction and due for completion by December 2015. The expansion was to include a purpose built decontamination room and ground floor accessible public disabled toilet facilities. Due to the building work on the ground floor one of the treatment rooms at this level was not in use at the time of the inspection.

The practice provides NHS and private dental care for its patient population with an approximate 80% : 20% ratio respectively and treats both adults and children. The practice offers a full range of routine dental services including veneers, crowns and bridges, dentures, gum and hygiene treatments and fissure sealants.

The service is provided by four part time dentists; one male and three female, four part time dental nurses and two receptionists. The practice opening hours are from 9.15am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday and on Saturday by appointment only.

The operational manager 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 carried out an announced, comprehensive inspection on 9 October 2015. The inspection took place over one day and was carried out by a CQC inspector, a trainee CQC inspector and a dentist specialist advisor.

We received 31CQC comment cards completed by patients who all commented positively about the staff and the care they received from the practice.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had systems to assess and manage risks to patients and staff, including for infection prevention and control, health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned in line with best practice guidance, such as from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

• Patients said they felt the practice offered a good service and that the whole dental team were professional, caring, respectful and friendly.

• The practice sought and acted on feedback from patients about the services they provided.

• There was evidence that the practice audited many areas of their practice as part of a system of improvement and learning.

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

• Review availability of equipment to manage medical emergencies giving due regard to guidelines issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK), and the General Dental Council (GDC) standards for the dental team.

• Review its systems to monitor the fridge temperatures used to store medicines for use in a medical emergency.

During the inspection we talked with three people using the service and six members of staff. People were satisfied with the service and treatment they received. One person said “they must be doing something good because I still have my teeth”. Another said “they are very good and took care of me when I was not well”.

People received information about the dental problems they presented with, the treatment options and their costs so they had the necessary information to make decisions about the treatment they wanted. One person told us “I have not been to a dentist for many years but the dentist explains things and makes me feel more comfortable”. Another person said, “I find the dentist approachable and I can ask questions”.

Dentists ensured they had a full medical history and information about people’s medicines before treating them. The practice kept some medicines and items of equipment to use in the event of an emergency, to ensure people received the necessary care and support.

The practice had appropriate quality assurance systems. There was an annual satisfaction survey to get information about people’s views of the service and to identify any areas for improvement. There were also various audits to monitor the quality of the service, including six monthly infection control audits.

Appropriate systems were in place for the management of the prevention and control of infection and wastes to protect people against the risks of the spread of infection.