We carried out this announced inspection on 30 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.

We told the NHS England area team and Healthwatch that we were inspecting the practice. We did not receive any information of concern from them.

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

Mydentist - Ashby Road - Scunthorpe provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice. There are dedicated disabled parking spaces directly in front of the practice.

The dental team includes three dentists (one of whom provides orthodontic treatment), five dental nurses (who also cover reception duties), one dental hygienist, one dental hygienist therapist and a practice manager. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. Registered managers 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 registered manager at Mydentist - Ashby Road - Scunthorpe was the practice manager.

On the day of inspection we collected seven CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with three other patients. This information gave us a good view of the practice. Some patients commented about a lack of dentists, difficultly accessing appointments and frequently seeing different dentists.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, three dental nurses, and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Friday from 8:45am to 5:30pm

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 practice was currently going through a period of staff change and this had affected the availability of routine appointments.
• 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 and should:

• Review the practice’s system for documentation of actions taken in response to incidents.
• Review the current staffing levels and ensure the practice can provide routine appointments in a timely manner to its patients.

People told us they were happy with the care they received. One person said that they had been a patient at the practice for over twenty years with no complaint and another person told us treatment was always explained and options discussed. One person felt that completing a medical history form gave them confidence in the treatments proposed. We found the premises to be clean, well maintained and regular checks on aspects of the service were carried out. However, we found that the provider did not reflect published guidelines with respect to emergency drugs to be held in the practice. This could compromise the health and safety of patients in some circumstances.