We carried out this announced inspection on 25 April 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.

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

Confidental is in Wimbledon and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs.

The dental team includes two dentists, a dental nurse, a trainee dental nurse, a dental hygienist therapist and two receptionists. The practice has three 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 collected feedback from five patients through CQC comment cards and speaking with patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with both of the dentists, the dental nurse, the trainee dental nurse and one of the receptionists. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open: Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm and 9am to 2pm on Saturdays. The practice closes for lunch between 1pm and 2pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and was well maintained.
• The practice 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 had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures however documentation was missing from some files.
• 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 appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership. 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 had processes to deal with complaints positively and efficiently.

The service was quiet at the time of our visit and engineers were installing a new digital telephone system.

We spoke to one person who used the service. They told us that they were happy with the treatment they had received so far and that they were always given information about the treatment they received and how much it would cost then. They told us “staff give me paperwork and documentation to sign, I am happy with my treatment”.

We saw that polices and procedures were in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people using the service.

We spoke to staff who told us the service was culturally diverse, we were told that reception staff were bilingual and how this helped patients whose first language was not English. One staff member told us “we want patients to be comfortable here, patient satisfaction is very important to us”.