We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 5 April 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

The Dental Care Centre has three dentists and three dental nurses. All of the dentists and dental nurses are qualified and registered with the General Dental Council (GDC). The practice’s opening hours are 9am until 5.50pm Monday to Friday.

The Dental Care Centre is a dental practice providing mainly NHS and some private treatment and caters for both adults and children. The practice is situated in a converted residential property. The practice had three dental treatment rooms; at the time of inspection only two were in use. Decontamination for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments was carried out in the treatment rooms. There is a reception and waiting area. One of the treatment rooms is on the first floor and there were steep stairs to access this, in addition the entrance to the surgery had a steep slope and stairs. Staff were able to assist patients into the surgery, but if needed would inform them of another practice which had easier access for those with limited mobility.

The provider was also 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. Supporting the registered manager is a practice manager.

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 12 completed cards and received feedback on the day of the inspection from six patients. These provided a positive view of the services the practice provides. All of the patients commented that the quality of care was good.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 5 April 2016 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 second inspector.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had suitable clinical governance systems and processes.
• 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 there was ongoing refurbishment.
• Infection control procedures were in place and the practice followed published guidance.
• The practice had effective safeguarding processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• Staff reported incidents and kept records of these which the practice used for shared learning.
• The practice had enough staff to deliver the service.
• 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 practice manager and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.
• Information from 12 completed CQC comment cards gave us a positive picture of a friendly, caring and professional service.
• All complaints were dealt with in an open and transparent way by the practice.

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

• Review the recruitment process to check information as required in the regulations is obtained prior to a new member of staff starting employment.
• Review processes to demonstrate that training had been given as planned and appraisals had been carried out on a regular basis.
• Review staff meeting minutes to provide sufficient detail to show what had been discuss and what actions had been agreed.
• Provide an annual statement on infection control.
• Review comments made by patients and show that these were acknowledged and responded to if needed.
• Review policies and procedures to include a date on when they were implemented and when a review was needed.
• Review arrangements for keeping patient records and hazardous chemicals secure.
• Put into place a system of tracking all prescriptions pads appropriately throughout the practice.