We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 15 December 2016 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

Priory Dental Centre is a general dental practice which provides care for adults and children. It is situated in the centre of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. The practice is in a converted townhouse which is grade two listed.

The practice has five dental treatment rooms and provides general dental treatment either funded by the NHS or privately.

The practice has two principal dentists and 4 further dentists one of whom is a foundation dentist. This means that the dentist recently qualified and is undertaking a year of mentored working where they receive support from their in practice trainers as well as attending training days. Both the principal dentists acted as trainers for the foundation dentist.

The practice employed two dental hygienists, three qualified dental nurses and four trainee dental nurses a receptionist and a practice manager.

The practice is open from 8.30 am to 5 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 8.30 am to 7 pm on a Thursday and 8.30 am to 3 pm on a Friday.

One of the principal dentists 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.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience. We received feedback from 41 patients. These provided a positive view of the services the practice provides. Patients commented on the quality of care, the polite and friendly nature of staff and the cleanliness of the practice.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was visibly clean and clutter free.

• Comments from patients indicated that the staff were kind and caring and were skilled at putting nervous patients at ease.

• The practice met the standards set out in national guidance regarding infection control.

• A routine appointment could be secured within a few days and emergency appointments would be arranged on the day they contacted the service.

• The practice had policies in place to assist in the smooth running of the service.

• The practice had medicines and equipment to treat medical emergencies.

• Dentists at the practice used national guidance and standards in the care and treatment of patients.

• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was well maintained.

• Governance arrangements were in place for the smooth running of the service.

• Appropriate pre-employment checks were being carried out; however the practice was not always recording character references or proof of identification.

• Archived dental care records were not stored securely on the premises, although they were stored away from patient areas. Following the inspection they were secured.

• The practice had not adequately assessed the use of ‘safer sharps’ in line with the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.

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

• Review the practice’s sharps procedures giving due regard to the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.

• Review the storage of dental care records to ensure they are stored securely.

• Review the practice's recruitment policy and procedures to ensure character references for new staff as well as proof of identification are requested and recorded suitably.

We visited Priory Dental Centre on 22 November 2012 where we spoke with dental surgeons, the head nurse and dental nurses.

We gathered evidence of people's experiences through telephoning five people following our visit.

People we spoke with said they were happy with the service they received. They told us that the dentists discussed the options available to them for any treatment they might require. They told us information was available to them to read about the treatment that was discussed.

People we spoke with told us that staff were caring and considered their anxieties. They told us all the staff were supportive and considered their needs.

People we spoke with told us they had not needed to raise any concerns but knew how to complain. They told us they would speak to the staff if they were unhappy with anything and were confident their concerns would be resolved. We saw there was information available in the reception areas which gave people information on how to make a complaint.

There was a range of information available to people attending the practice about the services provided and the costs.

People we spoke with told us that the surgery and reception area looked clean and they were satisfied with the standards of cleanliness. They also told us that staff always wore personal protective equipment.

We saw questionnaires were available for people to complete in the reception area and their responses were reviewed on a monthly basis.