We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 20 October 2015 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

Manor Park Family Dental Centre is situated in the Manor Park area of Sheffield. It offers mainly NHS treatment to patients of all ages but also offers private dental treatments. The services include preventative advice, treatment and routine restorative dental care.

The practice has two surgeries, a decontamination room, a waiting area and a reception area. The reception area and waiting room are on the ground floor of the premises. The surgeries are on the first floor of the premises.

There are two dentists, two dental nurses and a receptionist. They are supported by a regional clinical quality and care manager and an area manager.

The opening hours are Monday to Friday 9-00am to 6-00pm.

The regional clinical quality and care manager 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 spoke with four patients who used the service and reviewed 10 completed CQC comment cards. Patients we spoke with and those who completed comment cards were positive about the care they received about the service.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had systems in place to assess and manage risks to patients and staff including infection prevention and control and health and safety.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles.
• Oral health advice and treatment were provided in-line with the ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’ toolkit (DBOH).
• There was an individual risk based approach to patient recalls in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• Patients told us they were treated with kindness and respect by staff. Staff ensured there was sufficient time to explain fully the care and treatment they were providing in a way patients understood. Patients commented they felt involved in their treatment and that it was fully explained to them.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed.
• The practice had a complaints system in place and there was an openness and transparency in how these were dealt with.
• There were clearly defined leadership roles within the practice and staff told us that they felt supported, appreciated and comfortable to raise concerns or make suggestions. Staff received training appropriate to their roles.

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

• Review the staff awareness of the rinsing of instruments giving due regard to 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 practice's protocols for completion of dental records giving due regard to guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice regarding clinical examinations and record keeping.

People told us that staff explained all the procedures and treatments to them and respected their decisions about their treatment and care. One person said, "I like this lady (dentist), she explains everything. Very good. She’s always done what she said she would and explains the risks.”

People who used the service told us they were happy with the care and treatment they received at the practice. They told us "the appointments are ok. I was early today and seen straight away."

We found people received care and treatment in a clean environment with infection control measures in place to minimise the risk of infection. People we spoke with told us the unit was always clean and tidy. One person told us the surgery was “always clean. They (staff) always seem to get things (equipment) out of packets and wear clean gloves.”

The provider had a satisfactory recruitment and selection procedure in place to ensure that staff were appropriately employed.

The provider had an appropriate system in place for gathering, recording and evaluating information about the quality and safety of care the service provided. People who used the service and their representatives were asked for their views about their care and treatment.