We carried out this announced inspection on 7 September 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.

We told the NHS England area team and Healthwatch that we were inspecting the practice. They did not have any relevant information to share with us regarding this dental practice.

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

The Oasis Dental Practice in Long Eaton is located in premises in the centre of Long Eaton in Nottinghamshire. The practice provides both NHS dental treatment (55%) and private patients (45%) to patients of all ages.

The practice is located on two floors with ramped access to the rear door. There are four treatment rooms, two of which are located on the ground floor. There is a pay and display car park opposite the practice.

The dental team includes three dentists; one dental hygienist/ therapist; four qualified dental nurses; one trainee dental nurse, and two receptionists.

The practice is owned by an organisation 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 this inspection there was no registered manager in post at the practice. An application had been submitted to the Care Quality Commission for the new practice manager to become the registered manager.

On the day of inspection we collected 20 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, two dental nurses, a receptionist 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 Tuesday Thursday: 8:30am to 7pm, Wednesday: 8am to 7pm,

Friday: 8:30am to 5pm and Saturday: 9am to 1pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice was clean and well maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which followed published guidance.
• The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided, and received positive feedback.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risks in the practice, particularly with regard to health and safety.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes. Staff had been trained and knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took measures to protect their privacy and personal information.
• The practice completed regular audits; however, action plans and improvements were not always identified.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership. Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.

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

Review the practice’s audit protocols to ensure audits of various aspects of the service, such as radiography and infection prevention and control are undertaken at regular intervals to help improve the quality of service. Practice should also ensure that where appropriate audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.

People we spoke with told us they were involved in decisions about their care and treatment options. This was confirmed by our observations on the day.

One person told us “The staff are very good here. Neil (the dentist) is really good and I have been seeing him for years ". People told us they felt the practice delivered care and treatment in a way that met their needs and felt safe when they had treatment. One person told us “I’ve been coming here for a number of years. My family come here as well. My children are not nervous about coming here either because Neil has been very good with them ".

Staff could give us examples of types of abuse and possible signs of abuse. They were also aware of the reporting procedure for safeguarding issues.

We saw that there were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection.

The provider has effective recruitment and selection procedures in place and carries out relevant checks when they employ staff.

The provider had audited their own service and obtained patient feedback on a monthly basis.