We carried out this announced inspection on 6 February 2019 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

Kearsley Dental Care is in Bolton and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

There is a portable ramp available to facilitate access to the practice for wheelchair users. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.

The dental team includes two dentists and four dental nurses. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist. 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 20 CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist and two dental nurses. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The provider 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 to patients and staff. Improvements could be made to the process for logging checks on fire detection and firefighting equipment.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had thorough staff recruitment procedures. Improvements could be made to the process for obtaining evidence of immunity to Hepatitis B.
• 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.
• Staff were providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The provider asked patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

• Review the practice’s protocols for ensuring that all clinical staff have adequate immunity for vaccine preventable infectious diseases.
• Review the fire safety risk assessment and ensure checks on firefighting and fire detection equipment are logged.
• Review the practice's protocols and procedures to ensure staff are up to date with their highly recommended training and their continuing professional development.

The practice is based in a converted house with limited disabled access. We noted the practice was well maintained, light and airy.

We saw that staff interacted well with people and treated them with respect.

We sampled a number of treatment records and found these records were maintained correctly and stored securely when not in use.