We carried out this announced inspection on 24 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.

Background

Droitwich Spa Dental Practice is situated in a converted residential building in Droitwich, Worcestershire. It provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages. The practice’s clinical team comprises of the five dentists, one foundation dentist, four qualified dental nurses and three trainee dental nurses. The clinical team are supported by two receptionists, an administrator, an assistant practice manager and a practice manager. The assistant manager and practice manager are also qualified dental nurses.

The practice is owned by the two principal dentists there. One of the principal dentists is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as 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.

The practice has a reception area, three waiting rooms, two offices and five dental treatment rooms, three of which have decontamination areas and three of which are on the ground floor. The building and has level access for patients who use wheelchairs and pushchairs.

On the day of inspection we collected 15 CQC comment cards filled in by patients, reviewed the practice comments book and looked at the friends and family test results for April 2017. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with one of the principal dentists, two dentists, a foundation dentist, four dental nurses, a receptionist, an administrator and the assistant practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Friday 8.30am – 6pm

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 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.

During this inspection we spoke with two registered managers, a practice manager, one dentist a dental nurse. We spoke on the telephone with four people who used the practice.

People felt they were given enough information about their treatment options and the relevant fees. People felt involved in the choice of treatments they required. One person said: “They talk through what they are going to do and explain everything”.

People that used the practice told us they were very happy with the quality of the information, care and treatment they received. One person we spoke with said: “They are brilliant, can’t say enough about them”. Another person we spoke with said: “For me personally I cannot fault the treatment I have been given, got the appointment times I wanted and was seen straight away”.

The practice was clean and hygienic. People we spoke with confirmed that this was their experience too. There were suitable arrangements made for the cleaning, sterilising and storing of instruments so that people were not placed at risk of infection.

We looked at the recruitment process in place. We saw that appropriate checks had not always been carried out before staff commenced employment.

The provider had systems of audits in place to enable them to monitor the quality of the service provided. This made sure that people received appropriate care and treatment.