We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 11 August 2015 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

The practice is owned by Hermitage Dental. There are two dentists, two dental nurses and a practice manager who is also a dental nurse.

The practice provides private dental treatment services to adults and NHS treatment to children. The practice is open Monday to Thursday from 8.30am to 5pm. There are three nights, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday when the practice opens until 7pm. On a Friday the practice closes at 2pm.

The principle dentist is the identified registered person for the practice. 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.

We viewed 48 CQC comment cards that had been left for patients to complete, prior to our visit, about the services provided. All of the comment cards reflected positive comments about the staff and the services provided. Patients commented that the practice was clean and hygienic, they found the staff very friendly and approachable and they found the quality of the dentistry to be excellent. They said explanations were clear and made the dental experience as comfortable as possible

The practice was providing care which was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Our key findings were:

• The practice recorded and analysed significant events and complaints and cascaded learning to staff.
• Staff had received formal safeguarding training and knew the processes to follow to raise any concerns.
• There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
• Staff had been trained to deal with medical emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were readily available.
• Infection control procedures were in place; however the practice should make some changes to meet guidelines
• Patients’ care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with evidence based guidelines, best practice and current legislation.
• Patients received clear explanations about their proposed treatment, costs, benefits and risks and were involved in making decisions about it.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect and confidentiality was maintained.
• The appointment system met the needs of patients and waiting times were kept to a minimum.
• There was an effective complaints system.
• The practice was well-led and staff felt involved and worked as a team.
• Governance systems were effective and there was a range of clinical and non-clinical audits to monitor the quality of services.
• The practice sought feedback from staff and patients about the services they provided.

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

• Risk assess the need to add paediatric defibrillation pads to the emergency equipment available in the practice. This risk assessment should be recorded.
• Review arrangements for checks on emergency equipment, for example the defibrillator and emergency drugs, to ensure they remain in date and in working order should they be required for emergency use.