We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 5 January 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

R Dental Clinic is situated in Bradford, West Yorkshire. It offers mainly NHS treatment to patients of all ages but also offers private dental treatments. The services include preventative advice and treatment and routine restorative dental care.

The practice has four surgeries, a decontamination room, one waiting area and a reception area. The reception area, waiting area and three surgeries are on the ground floor. The other surgery is on the first floor. There are accessible toilet facilities on the ground floor of the premises.

There are four dentists (including a foundation training dentist), two dental hygienists, four dental nurses (including a trainee), three receptionists and a practice manager.

The opening hours are Monday to Thursday from 8-30am to 5-00pm and Friday from 8-30am to 1-00pm.

The owner of the practice is the registered provider for the practice. 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 spoke with three patients who used the service and reviewed 17 completed CQC comment cards. The patients were positive about the care and treatment they received at the practice. Comments included that the staff were polite and welcoming, the surgery was clean and that treatment was well explained.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had some systems in place to assess and manage risks to patients and staff including infection prevention, control and health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.
• Staff received training appropriate to their roles.
• Patients were involved in making decisions about their treatment and were given clear explanations about their proposed treatment including costs, benefits and risks.
• Oral health advice and treatment were provided in-line with the ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’ toolkit (DBOH).
• We observed that 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.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed.
• The practice had a complaints system in place and there was an openness and transparency in how these were dealt with.

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

• Aim to conduct more regular minuted staff meetings involving all staff.

During the inspection we had the opportunity to speak with two people who used the service. They told us they were satisfied with the care and treatment provided. Both people said it was their first visit since the renovation work had been done and they were very impressed with the new facilities. Their comments included: “Really nice, put you at ease”, “Everything has been fine, I have no complaints” and “nice new surgery”.

We found the provider had appropriate systems in place to ensure consent was gained before they proceeded with examination or treatment.

We found the provider had taken steps to ensure the care and welfare of people who used the service. There were arrangements in place to deal with medical emergencies.

We found the provider operated in clean and tidy facilities and had suitable infection prevention and control protocols in place.

We found the provider had appropriate arrangements in place to ensure staff were receiving suitable training.

We saw evidence there was an appropriate system in place for listening to and acting on people’s comments and concerns.