We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 16 January 2017 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

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

Holme Lane Dental Practice is situated in the Hillsborough area of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The practice offers mainly NHS dental treatments to adults and children. The services include preventative advice and treatment and routine restorative dental care.

The practice has two surgeries, a decontamination room, a sterilisation room, a waiting area and a reception area. There are patient toilets and staff facilities on the first floor of the premises.

There are two dentists, one dental hygiene therapist and four dental nurses (two of whom cover reception duties).

The opening hours are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 9-00am to 5-00pm and Tuesday and Friday 9-00am to 1-00pm.

One of the principal dentists is 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.

During the inspection we received feedback from 21 patients. The patients were positive about the care and treatment they received at the practice. Comments included staff were caring, friendly and helpful. They also commented treatments were explained in great detail and the practice was clean and tidy.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was visibly clean and uncluttered.
• The practice had systems in place to assess and manage risks to patients and staff including health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.
• Staff were qualified and had received training appropriate to their roles.
• Patients were involved in making decisions about their treatment and were given clear explanations about their proposed treatment including costs, benefits and risks.
• Dental care records showed treatment was planned in line with current best practice guidelines.
• Oral health advice and treatment were provided in-line with the ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’ toolkit (DBOH).
• We observed patients were treated with kindness and respect by staff.
• There was a warm and welcoming feel to the practice.
• Staff ensured there was sufficient time to explain fully the care and treatment they were providing in a way patients understood.
• The practice had a complaints system in place and there was an openness and transparency in how these were dealt with.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed.
• The governance systems were effective.
• There were clearly defined leadership roles within the practice and staff told us they felt supported, appreciated and comfortable to raise concerns or make suggestions.

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

• Review the current legionella risk assessment and implement the required actions including the monitoring and recording of water temperatures, giving due regard to the guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices and The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.
• Review the storage of products identified under Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) 2002 Regulations to ensure they are stored securely.
• Review the contact details in the practice’s whistleblowing and complaints policy to ensure they are up to date.

We spoke privately with four people who were attending the practice for check ups or treatment. All four people told us that they were "very pleased" with all aspects of the service. They told us that staff were "very friendly and professional." One person said, "I've been coming here for years. I've recently moved house so now I have to travel a long way to get here, but I won't change because I trust them here." Another person said, "I get a very good service here, all the staff are very good, I have no complaints."

All four people that we spoke with said that they felt safe in the care of the dentists. They also said that all members of the staff team acted and spoke in a professional manner. One person said, "the dentist is really good at explaining my treatment to me."

Everyone commented on the cleanliness of the practice. One person said, "the surgery is spotless." People said they regularly saw staff making sure that the surgery was clean, tidy and hygienic. We found people received care and treatment in a clean environment with infection control measures in place to minimise the risk of infection.

Staff that we spoke with said they were very well supported by the registered manager to carry out their role. Staff said they were up to date with all mandatory training and we saw confirmation of this.

The provider had an appropriate system in place for gathering, recording and evaluating information about the quality and safety of care the service provided.