We carried out this announced inspection on 5 June 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

Mydentist – St Owen Street is in Hereford and provides NHS and private dental treatment to patients of all ages.

The practice is spilt over two floors, the ground floor has a reception area, two surgeries, two waiting rooms, an assisted toilet and level access for patients who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. The second floor is located in the basement and has two surgeries, a practice manager’s office and a decontamination room for the cleaning, sterilising and packing of dental instruments.

The dental team includes three dentists, five dental nurses, one decontamination assistant, a practice manager and four receptionists. The practice has four treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a corporate company and as a condition of registration they 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 – St Owen Street is the practice manager. At the time of the inspection the practice manager was not available and we were assisted by the area development manager and the regulatory officer within the company.

On the day of inspection we collected 21 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, three dental nurses, two receptionists, a regulatory officer and the area development manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday to Friday 9am – 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 appointment system met patients’ needs.
• 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 monitoring processes and protocols to ensure effective monitoring of incident procedures, legionella procedures, radiography audit, infection control audit, dental material expiry date procedures and the practice’s waste handling protocols.