We carried out this announced inspection on 11 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 undertaken by a CQC inspector.

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

High Street Dental Practice is in Pangbourne, Berkshire and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

The practice is located on the first floor and, as such, there is limited access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including for patients with disabled badges, are available in a nearby public car park.

The dental team includes one dentist and two nurses who share nursing and reception duties. The practice has one treatment room and a separate decontamination room.

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.

On the day of inspection we collected twenty four CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with two other patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with all three staff and we looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open from 9am to 4:30pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 9am to 5pm on Wednesday; 9am to 4pm on Friday and occasional Saturdays between 9am and 2pm.

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.

Patients told us the dentist had discussed their treatment options with them and sought their consent prior to commencing treatment. However, copies of the treatment plan and consent had not been retained on file.

Patients told us they were able to get appointments which were convenient to them and at short notice when necessary. They described the dentist as “very gentle” and “good with people who don’t like visiting the dentist”.

Staff had attended training on child protection but not yet on safeguarding vulnerable adults. Some of the other core training had not been attended recently and records of staff training were not kept in the surgery.

Infection control practice was appropriate but some elements of it were not effectively documented and practice had not been audited.

No complaints had been received about the surgery.

The dentist had obtained her criminal records bureau check and was about to apply to become the registered manager for the practice.