Background

Cheslyn Hay Dental Practice has three dentists, one who works full time and the other two who each work part time, a dental hygienist, two qualified dental nurses who are registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) and a trainee dental nurse. The practice’s opening hours are 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.

Cheslyn Hay Dental Practice provides private treatment for both adults and children. The practice is situated on the ground floor of a converted residential property, the first floor is still utilised as living accommodation. The practice had two dental treatment rooms; both on the ground floor and a separate decontamination room for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. There is also a reception and waiting area and a staff meeting room which could also be used for private discussions with patients if required.

The practice owner 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.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We collected 30 completed cards and spoke to three patients. These provided a positive view of the services the practice provides. All of the patients commented that the quality of care was excellent.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 1 December 2015 as part of our planned inspection of all dental practices. The inspection took place over one day and was carried out by a lead inspector and a dental specialist adviser.

Our key findings were:

• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice was visibly clean and well maintained.
• Infection control procedures were robust and the practice followed published guidance.
• The practice had a dedicated safeguarding lead with effective safeguarding processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• The practice had enough staff to deliver the service.
• Staff recruitment files were well organised and complete.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD).
• Staff we spoke to felt well supported by the registered manager and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.
• Information from 30 completed CQC comment cards gave us a completely positive picture of a friendly, caring and professional service.
• The practice had a rolling programme of clinical audit in place.

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

• Appropriate signage should be placed on doors of rooms where X-rays are located.
• Update the training matrix to record the up to date training details for staff.