We carried out this announced inspection on 13 October 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 Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

We told the NHS England area team and Healthwatch that we were inspecting the practice. They did not provide any information.

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

Davids Dental Care is located in Dagenham, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. The practice provides NHS and private dental treatments to patients of all ages.

The practice is located on the ground and first floors of a purpose adapted residential premises. The practice has two treatment rooms, one of which is located on the ground floor.

The dental team includes the principal dentist, one dental hygienist and two dental nurses, one of whom is the practice manager.

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.

We received feedback from 12 patients via CQC comment cards and speaking with patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

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

The practice is open between 9am and 5pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and between 9am and 7pm on Wednesdays. The practice is closed between 1pm and 2pm daily for lunch.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was clean and 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 assess and manage risk.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• 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 dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.

People we spoke with told us they were respected and treated well. They felt they were able to express their views and were involved in making decisions about their care and treatment. A person we spoke with said “the service here is brilliant. He’s a fantastic dentist and all my family sees him.” Another person said “we have moved out of the area but still come here, as we couldn’t find anyone more pleasant. We are very impressed with him.”

People who use the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse. There was a safeguarding policy in place for the protection of vulnerable children and adults. People said they felt safe and looked after when receiving care and treatment. One person said “the dentist puts me at ease.”

The provider had taken steps to ensure there were systems in place to assess the risk and control the spread of health care associated infection.

People had their comments and complaints listened to and acted on, without the fear they would be discriminated against for making a complaint. There were effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of services people received. We saw people had written positive comments on the surveys they had recently completed.