The inspection took place on 02 February 2015 as part of our national programme of comprehensive inspections.

Hutton Village Dental provides primary dental care for NHS and private patients. They provide a full range of dental services including conscious sedation for nervous patients.

The practice team clinical staff includes six dentists supported by ten dental nurses and one undertaking training. There is also an orthodontist and five dental hygienists. Administration staff includes a practice manager, a head receptionist and three other reception colleagues.

The practice is open Monday to Friday for appointments during the working day and evening appointments are available up to 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Some appointments are available Saturday mornings for emergencies and private patients.

Prior to our inspection we left some CQC comment cards for patients to complete about their experience of the practice. We reviewed the 32 that had been completed and all of them contained complimentary comments about the dentists, support staff and the quality of the dentistry. Parents also commented about the way explanations were given to their children and how they were put at ease.

We spoke with five patients on the day of our visit. They were all complimentary about the staff at the practice, the explanations about their care and treatment and the services provided.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had a system in place for reporting and analysing safety incidents and learning from them.

• Infection control procedures followed recommended guidance and the practice was clean and hygienic. Instruments were cleaned and sterilised correctly.

• There were sufficient numbers of staff working at the practice to meet the needs of the patients. Staff were suitably qualified and experienced to carry out their roles.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care and treatment was delivered in line with the guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

• The practice followed an established procedure in relation to conscious sedation for nervous patients.

• Staff provided a caring service and respected patient’s dignity and privacy.

• The practice provided a supportive working environment for the staff working there. Staff competency was monitored and they were provided with training and development opportunities.

• The practice had a clear management structure and staff felt involved in the way the practice was managed. Staff were aware of their responsibilities

• Patient and staff feedback was sought and acted upon where improvements had been identified.

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

• Review the process in place for monitoring the expiry dates of medicines in use at the practice.

• Review their system for receiving national patient safety alerts and information received from the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to ensure all clinical staff are up to date with recommended guidance.
• Ensure clinical staff are up to date with the guidance from the Department of Health in relation to the oral health toolkit.

During our inspection we observed the staff interaction with people who used the service. Staff were professional and respectful of people’s different backgrounds, cultures and needs. We spoke with two people who used the service. One person told us, “Brilliant service, all very friendly. [relative] is very nervous and they make them feel better.“

We looked at four people’s treatment files and saw that there was an assessment that took place during consultation prior to treatment being commenced. We found that people had been informed of the treatment options and were given advice both before and after treatment. There were procedures in place in the event of an emergency. Staff were trained in emergency care. There was equipment available for use and this was maintained.

The service was clean and tidy. We saw cleaning schedules and checklists to ensure the correct procedures were carried out.

We looked at complaints and the provider’s complaints policy. We found that the service managed complaints appropriately.