We carried out this announced inspection on 19 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

The Croft BUPA Dental Care, is located in Stockbridge Village, a suburb of Liverpool and provides predominantly NHS treatment to adults and children. A small amount of private treatment is also provided.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available outside the practice including a limited number of spaces for blue badge holders.

The dental team includes five dentists, four dental nurses, one trainee dental nurse, two receptionists and a practice manager who is also the Registered Manager. The practice has four treatment rooms, all of which are fully accessible.

The practice is owned by an organisation, Croft Dental Care Ltd, who are part of the BUPA dental health care group. As a condition of registration the practice 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 The Croft BUPA Dental Care was the practice manager.

On the day of inspection we collected 11 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with one other patient.

During the inspection we spoke with three dentists, two dental nurses, one 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 to Friday between 9am and 5pm. The practice offers extended hours on Thursday, opening at 8am and closing at 6pm. They have recently started to provide Saturday surgeries between 10am and 2pm, which run on three Saturdays each month.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was clean and well maintained.
• The practice staff had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
• The practice staff had suitable safeguarding processes and staff 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 care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• The practice was providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs. The practice had recently started to offer Saturday clinics three times per month.
• The practice had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The practice asked staff and 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 practice could make improvements. The practice should:

• Review the security of NHS prescription pads in the practice and ensure there are systems in place to track and monitor their use.