We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 29 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

Mount Road Dental Surgery is located in the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames and provides a range of NHS dental services and services to private patients. The demographics of the practice included some transient populations with the majority of patients being white British.

The practice is open Monday to Friday from 8.30am-5.30pm. The practice facilities include two consultation rooms, a reception and waiting area, decontamination room and a staff room. The premises are wheelchair accessible and have facilities for wheelchair users including an accessible toilet.

We spoke with three patients during the inspection. Patient feedback was positive about the service. They told us that staff were polite and helpful and always treated them with respect. They described the service as professional. Information given to them was appropriate and clear and when relevant information about fees was made clear before they commenced treatment.

Our key findings were:

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned in line with current guidance.
• Patients were involved in their care and treatment planning so they could make informed decisions.
• There were effective processes in place to reduce and minimise the risk and spread of infection.
• There was appropriate equipment and access to emergency drugs to enable the practice to respond to medical emergencies. Staff knew where this equipment was stored.
• All clinical staff were up to date with their continuing professional development.
• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties which was well maintained.
• Appropriate governance arrangements were in place to facilitate the smooth running of the service, including a programme of audits for continuous improvements.

We spoke with six people who use the service, the dental nurse, receptionist, hygienist and one dentist during this inspection.

People told us that they were satisfied with the services provided and said "the dentist takes time to tell me about the treatment options and costs", "it's nice here, the dentist explains things to me", "it's always clean" and "the dentist always wears gloves". People said staff respected their privacy and that although the reception and waiting area was open, staff did not speak to them in front of others but directed them into the treatment room for private discussions.

Staff were happy to work at the surgery. They told us they had the necessary checks before they started work and had the training and support they needed to do their job. Staff said one of the things they did well was give patients the information they needed to understand the treatment options available to them. Staff also said that being in a small practice was a positive experience for both staff and people who use the service.

We saw that the treatment room, decontamination room and reception area were clean and tidy. We observed that reception staff welcomed people and made sure health information was updated before they saw the dentist or hygienist. The dentist took time to speak with people about what was being done and what they needed to do to maintain thier oral hygiene.