We carried out this announced inspection on 03 May 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.

We found that people were protected against the risk of the spread of infection because appropriate flooring was now in use in the treatment rooms and decontamination area.

We spoke with three people who used the service. They told us that the dentist explained the treatment options to them. One person told us, "They went into detail about what needed to be done and explained the different options."

People said they were very happy with the treatment that they had received. One person told us, "They are really friendly and nice."

On the day of our inspection the premises were clean and bright. The manager told us that the dental nurse was responsible for cleaning the premises. However, the floor in both of the treatment rooms and in the decontamination room was wood block. There was no coving between the floor and the walls in any of the rooms. This meant that dirt could accumulate in the joints between the wood blocks and in the joins between the walls and floors. The manager told us that the service had plans to change the flooring when the treatment rooms are redecorated in February 2014.

We saw that the manager had completed appraisals with the dental practitioners. The receptionist and the dental practitioners had been involved in setting their own objectives at the appraisal meetings. Progress against their objectives had been reviewed.

We saw that the service had asked people to complete a satisfaction survey in October 2013. All of the people who responded described the service as excellent or very good. People said that they would recommend the service to others.