We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 22 March 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

Clay Cross Family Dental Centre is located over two floors of a building close to the centre of Clay cross. The practice was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in October 2011. The practice provides an NHS dental service. Services provided include general dentistry, dental hygiene, crowns and bridges, and root canal treatment.

The practice’s opening hours are: Monday to Friday: 9 am to 1pm and 2 pm to 6 pm. The practice is closed at the weekends.

Access for urgent treatment outside of opening hours is by telephoning the practice and following the instructions on the answerphone message.

One of the partners is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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.

The practice has three dentists; three trainee dental nurses; one receptionist and one practice manager.

We received positive feedback from 40 patients about the services provided. This was through CQC comment cards left at the practice prior to the inspection and by speaking with patients in the practice.

Our key findings were:

• Patients spoke positively about the dental practice with several saying they received good treatment and were treated with dignity and respect.
• There were systems in place to record accidents, significant events and complaints, and where learning was identified this was shared with staff.
• There was a whistleblowing policy staff were aware of this and how to use it. All staff had access to the whistleblowing policy.
• Records showed there were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
• The practice had the necessary equipment for staff to deal with medical emergencies, and staff had been trained how to use that equipment. This included oxygen and emergency medicines.
• The practice followed the relevant guidance from the Department of Health's: ‘Health Technical Memorandum 01-05 (HTM 01-05) for infection control.
• Dentists involved patients in discussions about the care and treatment on offer at the practice. Patient recall intervals were in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance.

Governance arrangements were in place for the smooth running of the practice, with regular audits of different aspects of the quality of the service.

We spoke with five people who were using the service. They were all satisfied with the service they had received. People told us staff were friendly and welcoming. One person said, “I found them absolutely spot on”. Another person told us it was, “An excellent service”.

People also told us they could get appointments very quickly and were not waiting long when they came for appointments. They said they were involved in decisions about their treatment and were given appropriate information and advice.

They told us they were satisfied with the cleanliness of the service. One person said, “It’s all clean”. Another person said, “It was immaculate”.