We carried out this announced inspection on 06 March 2019 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

Fellows Dental Practice is in Eastbourne, East Sussex and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

The practice is accessible via a threshold for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. A ramp is available for patients to go down a step into the waiting room. Parking spaces for blue badge holders are available close to the practice.

The dental team includes the principal dentist, two associate dentists, two dental hygienists, three dental nurses, one trainee dental nurse, two receptionists and a practice manager. The practice has three treatment rooms.

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 collected feedback about the practice from 104 patients.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, one associate dentist, two dental nurses, two receptionists and the 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 from 8.30am to 5pm
• Selected Saturday mornings

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared 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 provider 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.
• Staff were providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
• 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 staff dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.

• The practice staff had suitable information governance arrangements.

Patients told us that they were very satisfied with the care, treatment and advice provided at the practice and did not have any concerns about the service they received. They told us that they had been fully involved with the dentist and staff about the treatments available to them and the costs involved. Examples of comments from patients were “ …been coming here since 1984 and have had no worries about coming here” and “My daughter travels all the way from Brentwood to Eastbourne to see Mr Fellows”.

We found that people felt fully involved in their care and treatment and had consented properly. The patients felt that they were treated with respect and dignity.

The practice was friendly, welcoming and informative. We saw that patients were listened to in all areas of the practice. The surgery was clean throughout and there was evidence of high quality service delivery. The staff were well trained and caring.