We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 9 February 2017 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

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

Precision Dental & Facial Aesthetics - Osborne House is situated in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. The practice provides dental treatment to adults and children on a privately funded basis. The services include preventative advice and treatment, routine restorative dental care and dental implants.

The practice has three surgeries, a decontamination room, an X-ray room, a waiting area and a reception area. All of the facilities are on the ground floor of the premises along with toilet facilities.

There are three dentists, one dental hygienist, four dental nurses, one receptionist and a practice manager.

The opening hours are Monday from 9-00am to 7-00pm, Tuesday to Thursday from 9-00am to 5-30pm and Friday from 9-00am to 1-30pm.

The principal dentist is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

During the inspection we received feedback from 34 patients. The patients were positive about the care and treatment they received at the practice. Comments included staff were friendly, helpful and caring. They also commented that the treatments were carried out with great sensitivity and the premises are clean and hygienic.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was visibly clean and uncluttered.
• The practice had systems in place to assess and manage risks to patients and staff including health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.
• Staff were qualified and had received training appropriate to their roles.
• Dental care records showed treatment was planned in line with current best practice guidelines.
• Oral health advice and treatment were provided in-line with the ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’ toolkit (DBOH).
• We observed patients were treated with kindness and respect by staff.
• Staff ensured there was sufficient time to explain fully the care and treatment they were providing in a way patients understood.
• The practice had a complaints system in place and there was an openness and transparency in how these were dealt with.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed.
• The governance systems were effective.
• There were clearly defined leadership roles within the practice and staff told us they felt supported, appreciated and comfortable to raise concerns or make suggestions.
• The practice used a hand held X-ray machine. This was not stored in line with current guidance from Public Health England.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review the staff’s awareness of the sharps policy and risk assessment.
• Review the storage and security of the hand held X-ray machine.
• Review the practice's protocols for completion of dental records giving due regard to guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice regarding clinical examinations and record keeping.

We found the provider had a satisfactory recruitment and selection procedure in place to ensure that staff were appropriately employed.

People who used the service told us they were given options about their treatment. One person said, “I was given a treatment plan to take away and consider. There was no rush for me to make a decision.”

We spoke with three people who used the service and they told us that they did not have to wait long for an appointment. People felt that the staff were friendly and the waiting area was very relaxing. People felt that treatment was clearly explained to them. One person said, “I knew everything that the dentist was doing during my treatment as it had been clearly explained to me.”

People we spoke with said that the environment was always clean and tidy. Processes were in place to ensure that equipment was safe to use and clean. One person said, “The practice is always clean and well managed.”

We found that staff were given the appropriate training to do their job. Staff felt supported by the dentists and practice manager.

However, we found that staff had not had the necessary checks completed prior to starting work.

The practice had a process in place to monitor people’s views about the service. People we spoke with told us that they had never had to complain about the service.