We carried out this announced inspection on 26 April 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

Forest Road Dental Practice is in Loughborough, a town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire. It provides NHS treatment to children and private treatment to adults.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs with use of a portable ramp. Car parking spaces are available in the practice’s car park at the rear of the building.

The dental team includes three dentists, five dental nurses, one trainee dental nurse, two dental hygienists, a reception manager and a practice manager. The practice has four treatment rooms; these are all located on the ground floor.

The practice is owned by a company 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 at Forest Road Dental Practice is one of the principal dentists.

On the day of inspection we collected 31 CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

During the inspection we spoke with three dentists, three dental nurses, the trainee nurse, one hygienist and the reception manager.

We looked at practice policies and procedures, patient feedback and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7.30am to 4pm and Friday from 7.30am to 1pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The practice staff had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available, although we noted that some items were missing on the day of our inspection. An order for these items was placed the same day and the practice advised us afterwards that they had been received.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
• The practice staff 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 committed and effective leadership and were in the process of developing a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported by the provider.
• 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.

We spoke with one person using the service and observed practice on one patient. We were told that the service always checks their medical history at each visit and if they need to discuss oral hygiene they see the hygienist. They also told us that the staff always wore masks, aprons and gloves when providing treatment and that they felt the surgery was kept hygienically clean.