We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 23 June 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.

Bullsmoor Dental Practice is located in Enfield and provides NHS and private dental services.

The practice team included the provider, three associate dentists, a hygienist, four dental nurses, a practice manager and three receptionists.

We reviewed 43 Care Quality Commission (CQC) comment cards completed by patients and spoke with five patients. They were very positive about the care they received from the practice. They commented that staff were caring, respectful and helpful.

One of the partners 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.

Our key findings were:

• 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).
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles.
• Staff were knowledgeable about patient confidentiality
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed
• The patient comment cards we reviewed indicated that patients were consistently treated with kindness and respect by staff.
• The practice had appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was maintained appropriately.

• Appropriate governance arrangements were in place to facilitate the smooth running of the service

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

• Ensure waste is segregated and disposed of in accordance with relevant regulations giving due regard to guidance issued in the Health Technical Memorandum 07-01 (HTM 07-01).
• Ensure sharps are disposed of at point of use giving due regard to Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.
• Ensure references are obtained and recorded in staff files for all new staff as part of pre-employment checks and keep copies of professional development certificates in staff files.