We carried out this announced inspection on 13 June 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

One Dental is in Rugby, Warwickshire and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including those for blue badge holders, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes one dentist, one dental nurse a receptionist and the practice manager. The practice has a visiting implantologist and implant trained nurse when required. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned 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 32 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with two other patients.

During the inspection we spoke with one dentist, one dental nurse and the practice manager, who also worked on reception. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

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 staff 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 providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The practice completed clinical audits to highlight areas where improvements could be made. We found some that some audits did not have a recorded result or analysis.
• The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice staff dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The practice staff had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Review the practice’s protocols to ensure audits of infection prevention and control have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.

On the day we visited One Dental, we spoke with the provider (who was also the dentist), a dental nurse and a receptionist. We read the patient records for three people who used the service, we spoke with three people who had used the service that day and we observed staff's interaction with people at the practice.

We gathered further information about people's experiences by telephoning one person following our visit.

People we spoke with told us they were happy with the service they received. They told us that the dentist discussed the options available to them for any treatment they may require. They told us they were satisfied with the information made available to them about the treatment.

People we spoke with told us that they were happy with the standards of cleanliness in the practice. On the day of our visit we saw suitable arrangements were in place for control of infection and decontamination of instruments.

The reception area was clean and comfortable. We saw that there were information leaflets and magazines available to people.

On the day of our visit we saw that staff were polite and helpful to people who used the service. One person who used the service told us that they had, “Recommended them to all my family.” Another person told us that they were a, “Nervous patient” and they were “Very pleased with the dentist and the dental nurse." Another person told us that they were, “Happy with the dentist and trust him with my children’s care.”