We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 13 May 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

‏ Devonshire Dental Clinic is located in the London Borough of Westminster and provides private dental services.

The practice was open 8.45am to 18.00pm Monday to Friday.

Facilities within the practice include four dental treatment rooms, two hygienist rooms, a dedicated decontamination room and a waiting area.

The practice consisted of five dentists, two hygienists, three dental nurses, a dedicated decontamination officer, a practice manager, a receptionists and a patient co-ordination manager.

The practice manager was 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.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission (CQC) comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We received 15 completed comment cards. We also received feedback from three patients on the day of the inspection. The feedback we received for patients gave 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 13 May 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 dental specialist adviser.

Our key findings were:

• There were effective processes in place to reduce and minimise the risk and spread of infection.

Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned. Improvements could be made to ensure care planning gave due regard to national guidelines.

• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties and equipment was well maintained.
• Patients told us that staff were caring and treated them with dignity and respect.
• Patients indicated that they felt they were listened to and that they received good care from a helpful and caring practice team.
• There were processes in place for patients to give their comments and feedback about the service including making complaints and compliments.
• Governance arrangements were in place and there was a clear vision for the smooth running of the practice. Improvements could be made in relation to learning from audits.

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

• Review the practice’s sharps procedures giving due regard to the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013

• Review the practice protocols and adopt an individual risk based approach to patient recalls giving due regard to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

• Review the practice's protocols for completion of dental records giving due regard to guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice regarding clinical examinations and record keeping.

• Review the practice’s audit protocols of various aspects of the service, such as radiography and dental care records at regular intervals to help improve the quality of service. Practice should also check that where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.

On this occasion we did not speak to people that used the service. We reviewed the action

plan submitted by the provider and re-visited the location.

Patients who used the service told us that they were happy with the care they received. They felt they were given enough information about their treatment and they felt involved in decisions about their care.

We noted that the clinic was clean and well maintained and that private rooms were used for patient consultations.