We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 3 September 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

The practice provides private treatment to patients in the Addingham area and beyond.

The dental practice has two treatment rooms on the ground floor. There is a comfortable waiting and reception area, decontamination room, staff room/kitchen and office area. There are accessible toilet facilities on the ground floor of the premises. There is off street parking available in the village of Addingham.

The practice has three dentists, a dental hygienist and three dental nurses/receptionists.

The practice is open Monday 9am to 5:00pm, Wednesday 8:30am- 11am, Thursday and Friday 9:00am to 5pm, and Saturday 9am-12:30pm.

The principal dentist is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as an individual. 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.

Before the inspection we sent CQC comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We received feedback from nine patients who all gave positive comments about the care and treatment they received.

Our key findings were:

• We saw that the premises were clean and well maintained
• The practice had systems to assess and manage risks to patients, including infection prevention and control and health and safety.
• Staff had received safeguarding training, knew how to recognise signs of abuse and how to report it. They had very good systems in place to work closely and share information with the local safeguarding team.
• There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
• Staff were qualified and had received training appropriate to their roles.
• Treatment was provided in line with current best practice guidelines including the Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
• Oral health advice and treatment were provided in-line with the ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’ toolkit (DBOH).
• Patients received clear explanations about their proposed treatment, costs, benefits and risks and were involved in making decisions about it.
• 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.