We carried out this announced inspection on 2 May 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

Oldbury Dental Centre is in Oldbury Health Centre Dental Department, Oldbury, West Midlands and provides NHS treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including spaces for blue badge holders, are available in the Health Centre car park.

The dental team includes two dentists. The three dental nurses, receptionist and dental nurse manager who work at the practice are employed by Birmingham Community Healthcare Trust but are based at this practice. The practice has one treatment room and a separate decontamination room. The receptionist, reception and waiting area are shared with those patients visiting the community dental practice.

The practice building is leased by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They 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 19 CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

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

The practice is open: Monday 9am to 12.30pm, Tuesday and Thursday 9am to12.30 and1.15pm to 4.30pm and Wednesday 9.30am to 12.30pm and 1.15pm to 4.30pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared 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. Dental nurses were employed by the Birmingham Community Healthcare Trust. The Trust also had suitable 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 providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team. Regular staff meetings were held.
• The practice asked patients for feedback about the services they provided. Positive feedback had been received.
• The practice had systems in place to deal with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The practice had suitable information governance arrangements.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

Review the practice's responsibilities to take into account the needs of patients with disabilities and to comply with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.

This dental practice location is a small dental practice, owned and operated by one registered dental provider. It is operated within Oldbury Health Centre which is situated off the main high street in Oldbury.

This dentist provider through a contract agreement operates within premises owned by a larger dentist provider. A treatment room has been allocated to them but the rest of the facilities for instance the reception and reception staff and, decontamination room for equipment are shared. A dental nurse practice manager is employed by the main provider to oversee the day to day running of the main dental department.

This dental practice provides a full range of general dental assessments and treatments. They do not provide orthodontic treatments but can refer to another dentist who specialises in these treatments if people want them to.

People receiving care and treatment from this dental practice location pay independently or can access their dentistry through NHS costs. The practice has a current contract with the NHS to provide NHS dental care to people.

As part of our review we spoke with one person in the waiting room and four people by phone. The people we spoke with by phone had all recently received treatment from this dentist. People spoke highly of this dentist practice. People were satisfied with the care and treatment they had received. Below are a few comments people made;

“One of my family members had not been to a dentist for eight years. I forced them to go. They said that Dr Vora was the best dentist that they had ever been to”.

“ A very good dentist. Always explains things to me”.

“Very nice I feel totally comfortable with that dentist”

“I’ve been coming to this dentist for sometime. I would not keep coming if I was not satisfied”.

One person did comment that they did have to book well in advance for ‘routine appointments’.

Evidence that we gathered during this review confirmed that people are assessed to decide what dental and oral healthcare needs they may have. Treatments that people may need are discussed with them and are carried out in a satisfactory way.

Overall we found good practices regarding infection control and cleaning procedures which demonstrated compliance in this area. We made some suggestions for minor adjustments and additions to processes which could enhance these processes further. The provider and dental nurse manager were receptive to our suggestions and confirmed that they would address these.