We carried out this announced inspection on 18 February 2019 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

Castle Way Dental Care is in Stafford and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

The dental practice is located on the first floor of Castlefields Medical Practice. The dental practice is accessed by steps. Car parking spaces, including those for blue badge holders, are available at the front of the practice.

The dental team includes one dentist, four dental nurses, (including two receptionists), one dental hygiene therapist and a business manager. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.

On the day of inspection, we received feedback from 46 patients.

During the inspection we spoke with the dentist, a dental nurse, two receptionists and the business manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open: Monday 9am to 5.30pm, Tuesday 8.30am to 6pm, Wednesday 9am to 5.30pm, Thursday 8.30am to 5.30pm and Friday 9am to 3pm. The practice closes for an hour each lunch time.

Our key findings were:

• We received positive feedback from patients about the staff and the dental care they received at the practice. Positive feedback had also been recorded in the practice’s comments book and on the NHS Choices website.
• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The provider 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 some systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff although some improvements were required.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• 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.
• Staff were providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider had systems in place to deal with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Review the practice’s systems for assessing, monitoring and mitigating the various risks arising from the undertaking of the regulated activities. In particular provide evidence that a fire risk assessment has been completed, develop and implement risk assessments regarding hepatitis B non-immunised and non-responder staff as necessary, sharps risk and complete a health and safety or general practice risk assessment.

• Review the training, learning and development needs of individual staff members at appropriate intervals and ensure an effective process is established for the on-going assessment, supervision and appraisal of all staff.

We carried out this inspection to check on the care and welfare of people who used this practice. The inspection was arranged two days in advance. This was to ensure that staff working at the practice had time to speak with us, and our visit would cause the least disruption for people who had dental appointments.

We looked at the paper and the electronic records for two people who used the practice to see how their care and treatment was provided and managed. We talked with staff who were aware of and able to discuss people's care and treatment needs.

People who used the practice told us they were fully involved with discussing and agreeing their treatment plan.

People we spoke with told us that the practice always looked very tidy and they were very satisfied with the standards of cleanliness. During the inspection we saw that there were good standards of hygiene and infection control practices.

We saw that staff were provided with opportunities for their continued performance development to ensure they had the necessary skills to undertake their role.

We found that the service had several tools for monitoring the quality and safety of the service being delivered and to work towards continuous improvement.