We carried out this announced inspection on 20 November 2018 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

Mydentist- Purfleet- Kings Lynn provides mainly NHS dental treatment to children and adults. The practice is part of the Mydentist group, who operate a large number of dental practices across the UK.

The practice employs three dentists, four dental nurses and one dental hygienist. They are supported by a practice manager and three receptionists. The practice is in the centre of Kings Lynn and has four treatment rooms.

The practice opens Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.30pm.

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. 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.

On the day of inspection, we collected 46 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with two other patients. We spoke with the practice manager, two dentists, two dental nurses and reception staff. We also spoke with the provider’s regulatory officer who was on site to support the inspection.

We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• Infection control procedures reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies, and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• Patients’ care and treatment was provided in line with current guidelines.
• Members of the dental team were up-to-date with their continuing professional development and were supported to meet the requirements of their professional registration.
• Patients’ complaints were taken seriously, managed effectively and used as a tool to improve the service.
• The practice was experiencing significant recruitment problems which had adversely affected the availability of appointments and waiting times for treatment.

People who we spoke with said that they were given the right amount of information about their dental support, care and treatment. They also said that they were treated with respect and had no cause to make a complaint.

All of the people who we spoke with said that they were satisfied with the standard and quality of their dental care and treatment.

Arrangements were in place to safely and appropriately manage any dental and medical emergency situations experienced by people visiting the clinic.

People's health was protected due to effective systems and procedures for the management and control of infection.

All of the people who we spoke with had positive comments about the competencies and skills of members of staff. Staff were trained to provide people who used the service with safe and appropriate dental care and treatment. Arrangements were in place to improve the staff recruitment and selection system.

Quality assurance systems were in place which provided people with the opportunity to share their views about the service with the provider.

The review of complaints was a method used to improve the standard and quality of the service provided, if required.

Treatment records were maintained which ensured that people received safe and appropriate dental care and treatment.