We carried out this announced inspection on 22 May 2017 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

Meads Village Dental Practice is in Eastbourne and provides private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including spaces for patients with disabled badges, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes one principal dentist, two dental nurse/receptionists and a dental hygienist. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. 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 44 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

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

The practice is open:

Mondays and Tuesdays 8.30am until 5.00pm

Wednesdays 8.30am until 4.00pm

Thursdays 8.30am until 5.30pm

Fridays 8.30am until 3.00pm

Saturdays by appointment.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was clean and well maintained.
• The practice 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.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• 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.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership. Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.

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

• Review the availability of medicines to manage medical emergencies taking into account guidelines issued by the British National Formulary, the Resuscitation Council (UK), and the General Dental Council (GDC) standards for the dental team.
• Review the current infection control protocols and undertake a Legionella risk assessment and implement the required actions taking into account guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices and have regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.’

We spoke with two patients who used the service who told us that they were very happy with the treatment and care provided. They told us that they were informed about the choices, costs, and possible outcomes of their treatment. They felt that they were treated with respect and dignity. Comments received included “the dentist is so caring” and “staff are so pleasant'”

The practice was friendly, welcoming and informative. We saw that patients were listened to in all areas. This was evident from direct observation of effective interaction and of an individual who was supported in a professional and respectful manner.

We saw that the practice was very clean throughout and the staff were well trained and caring.

We could not be assured that that there were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection as the required infection control audits were considerably overdue.