We carried out this announced inspection on 26 September 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

Pennington Dental Kenilworth is located in Kenilworth, Warwickshire and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs although some parts of the corridors were narrow for wheelchair and pushchair users. The practice is situated on the ground floor of the building and consists of a reception area, a waiting room, a large patient toilet, a staff kitchen, an X-ray room, three dental treatment rooms and a decontamination room for the cleaning, sterilising and packing of dental instruments. Car parking spaces, including spaces for blue badge holders, are available in the pay and display car park directly behind the practice.

The dental team includes the principal dentist, three dentists, three dental nurses, one trainee dental nurse / receptionist, one dental hygienist, two dental hygiene therapists, one receptionist and one group practice manager. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is part of a group of three practices in Warwickshire which are 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 10 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with three other patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, two dentists, one dental nurse, one dental hygiene therapist, one trainee nurse / receptionist and the group practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday: 8.30am to 5.30pm

Tuesday: 8am to 6pm

Wednesday: 8.30am to 6.30pm

Thursday: 8.30am to 5.30pm

Friday: 8.30am to 5.30pm

Saturday: By appointment only

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 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.

We visited the service on 1 March 2013. We met with two dentists, two nurses, two receptionists and the manager.

We also spoke with one person who used the service on the day of our visit and four people by telephone following our visit. We did this so we could gain their experiences of the service they received.

We asked people about their experiences of using the dental service. People commented, "Quite happy with the care" and “Look forward to going, nice people”.

Everyone spoken with said that they could get an appointment when they needed one. During the inspection we saw that people's privacy and dignity was fully respected at all times during treatment.

We found that people received the care and treatment they needed. We saw that records detailed the treatments people received.

We saw that systems and practices had been put in place regarding infection control and sterilisation of dental equipment. People we spoke with had no concerns about the cleanliness of the practice.

Staff appeared knowledgeable and competent and had undertaken relevant training. We found that the correct procedures were in place to ensure staff were fully supported in their role.

Quality assurance systems were in place to identify areas of improvement that could improve the quality of the service provided.