We carried out this announced inspection on 16 July 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

Pickering Dental Health Practice in in the centre of Pickering in North Yorkshire and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs.

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here is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. The practice has one disabled parking space on site with additional public car parking and public transport facilities available nearby.

The dental team includes six dentists (one who is a foundation dentist), 11 dental nurses (one of whom is a trainee), one dental hygienist, one dental hygiene therapist, a p

ractice administrator,

a practice manager and a receptionist. The practice has seven treatment rooms.

Pickering Dental Health Practice is a training practice for foundation dentists.

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.

Due to a CQC administrative error the practice did not receive comment cards to distribute to their patients so we were unable to gather their views in this format. We looked at the practice’s own patient surveys and spoke with two patients and confirmed patients overall high satisfaction levels with the service.

During the inspection we spoke with three dentists (including the principal dentist), three dental nurses, a p

ractice administrator

 and the receptionist. 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 staff 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 referred patients in a timely manner for treatment where required, we noted that the monitoring of non-urgent referrals was not always effective.
• The practice staff had suitable safeguarding processes and 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 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.

Surveys completed by people who received treatment at the surgery were positive about the service provided. People said they were given enough information about their treatment options and the relevant fees and were able to ask all the questions they wanted to. They found the staff friendly and said they were treated with respect and their privacy was maintained.

We found arrangements were in place for people who needed additional assistance, which included ramped access and ground floor surgeries. One person with mobility difficulties who attended the surgery said “the dentist always comes to the reception to greet me and it reassures me that I do not need to try to rush.”

We spoke with members of the dental team available on the day that included the provider who is also the principal dentist, the practice manager, and senior dental nurse. They confirmed that their priority was to give a high quality service, to listen to their patients and to continually improve.

Effective systems were in place to identify, assess and manage risks to the health, safety and welfare of people who used the service and others. We found that infection control procedures were in place to ensure patients were protected from the risk of infection. People’s records contained a current medical history, comprehensive assessment of their dental health needs, and a plan of treatment.