We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 4 February 2016 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

Kingsway Dental Practice offers mainly NHS (approximately 99%) and private dental care services to patients of all ages. The services provided include preventative advice and treatment and routine and restorative dental care. The practice has four treatment rooms, two waiting areas, a reception area and separate decontamination and sterilisation rooms. Treatment and waiting rooms are on the ground and first floor of the premises. There is wheelchair access to the three ground floor treatment rooms.

The practice has four dentists, a practice manager and eight dental nurses, two of whom are also receptionists. The principal dentist is the registered provider. (Registered providers have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run). The practice is open Monday to Friday from 9.00am until 5.30pm.

We viewed 28 CQC comment cards that had been left for patients to complete, prior to our visit, about the services provided. In addition we spoke with three patients on the day of our inspection. We reviewed patient feedback gathered by the practice through comments from the NHS Friends and Family Test. Feedback from patients was overwhelmingly positive about the care they received from the practice. They commented staff were caring, respectful, put them at ease and listened to their concerns.

Our key findings were:

• Patients told us they had confidence in the dental services provided and were able to arrange routine and emergency appointments when needed. There were clear instructions for patients regarding out of hours care.

• The practice carried out oral health assessments and planned treatment in line with current best practice guidance, for example from the Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP). Patient dental care records were detailed and clearly showed on-going monitoring of patients’ oral health.
• The practice had systems in place to assess and manage risks to patients, including health and safety and safeguarding children and adults from abuse.
• There were systems in place to monitor and continually improve the quality of the service; including through clinical and non-clinical audits.
• Staff were supported to maintain their continuing professional development (CPD), had undertaken training appropriate to their roles and told us they felt well supported to carry out their work.
• Patients commented they felt involved in their treatment and that it was fully explained to them.
• There were maintenance contracts in place to ensure all equipment had been serviced regularly, including, autoclaves, fire extinguishers, the air compressor, oxygen cylinder and X-ray equipment.
• There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. Staff were appropriately trained and had access to policies and procedures on how to maintain a clean and hygienic environment.
• There were clearly defined leadership roles within the practice and staff told us they felt well supported and comfortable to raise concerns or make suggestions.

We spoke with people told us that they were very happy with the service provided. They felt their dignity was maintained, their privacy protected and they were given enough information about their treatment options. The practice was clean and staff were knowledgeable and up to date with practice.

We spoke with people who told us, "I am never kept waiting to see the dentist. I was able to make my appointment yesterday with a specific dentist". "I get information about my treatment in writing and any further appointments are made for me in advance so I don't have to ring up myself".

One person told us they were a nervous patient so it was important to get an appointment the same day or the next day to stop them worrying for too long. They told us, " I only rang yesterday and got this appointment today."