We carried out this announced inspection on 8 May 2018 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

Dental Design Studio Northwood is in the London Borough of Hillingdon 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 eight dentists, eight dental nurses, two dental hygienists, and two receptionists. The practice has five treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a partnership and as a condition of registration must have, a person registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. Registered managers 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 registered manager was one of the partners.

On the day of inspection, we received feedback from 30 patients.

During the inspection, we spoke with three dentists, two dental nurses, one hygienist and a receptionist. We looked at practice policies, procedures, and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

• Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 8:00am to 6.00pm
• Tuesday and Thursday: 8.30am to 7:00pm
• Saturday: 9:00am to 1:00pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained, though some improvements were required.
• The practice had infection control procedures that 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 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 practice was providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership.
• Staff felt involved, 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.
• The practice had suitable information governance arrangements.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements, they should:

• Review the practice’s systems in place for environmental cleaning taking into account guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices.

During our inspection we spoke with two people who use the service, two dentists, the practice manager and a dental nurses. People told us that the dental clinic was always clean and they were given emergency appointments when needed. One patient said,” l have been coming here for years with my children which says a lot about the care we receive”. We saw responses from a satisfaction questionnaire, comments included,” the staff are excellent and the receptionist is very courteous and helpful”.

People told us that they had been involved in decisions relating to their care and treatment planning and were given all the necessary information to reach a decision.

We noted that people received care in a clean environment as all necessary infection control procedures were adhered to.

Staff had sufficient training to provide care. The provider had a good system in place to record and follow up any complaints and people confirmed that they were aware of the complaints policy.