During this visit we were unable to speak to people who use the services at Oasis Dental Care - Sunderland.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 14 July 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

Oasis dental care, Sunderland was established in 2001 and is part of the Oasis dental care limited group of practices. Situated in a residential complex, the practice provides predominantly NHS treatment to patients of all ages. There are five treatment rooms spread over two floors, a dedicated decontamination room for sterilising dental instruments, a kitchen and a staff changing room. Car parking is available to the side of the building. Access for wheelchair users is possible using the residential ramp outside the building.

The practice is open Monday to Thursday 0800-1915 and Friday 0800-1715.

The dental team is comprised of a practice manager, four receptionists, five dental nurses (two of which are trainees), four dentists and one dental hygiene therapist.

The practice manager is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 spoke to three patients on the day of our visit; they were very positive about the staff and standard of care provided by the practice. We also reviewed nine CQC comment cards which supported this. Patients were very positive about the care and attention to treatment they received at the practice.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was well organised, visibly clean and free from clutter.
• Care is provided as part of the NHS prototyping pilot to increase access and improve dental health.
• An Infection prevention and control policy was in place. We saw the sterilisation procedures followed recommended guidance.
• The practice had systems for recording incidents and accidents.
• Practice meetings were used for shared learning.
• The practice had a safeguarding policy and staff were aware on how to escalate safeguarding issues for children and adults should the need arise.
• Staff received annual medical emergency training. Equipment for dealing with medical emergencies reflected guidance from the resuscitation council.
• Dental professionals provided treatment in accordance with current professional guidelines.
• Patient feedback was regularly sought and reflected upon.
• Patients could access urgent care when required.
• Dental professionals were maintaining their continued professional development (CPD) in accordance with their professional registration.
• Complaints were dealt with in an efficient and positive manner.
• The practice was actively working with local schools and nurseries to raise awareness of oral health and provide preventative fluoride treatments.