We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 05 November 2015 due to receiving some concerning information 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

Riverview Dental Centre provides predominately NHS dental services with private treatment options for patients. The practice has six consulting and treatment rooms, has four dentists and one foundation training dentist who are supported by four dental nurses. The practice is managed by a practice manager and a group manager with a principal dentist supporting the whole team.

Riverview Dental Centre is an approved training practice for dental foundation training (DFT). DFT introduces newly qualified dentists to general practice in a supportive environment. This is usually for one year and includes training to prepare dentists for working in the NHS.

One of the 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.

We spoke with four patients who told us that they were satisfied with the services they had received. All stated their experiences at the practice were excellent, that staff were kind and caring and appointments were readily available both for emergencies and routine visits. They spoke about how their dignity and privacy was maintained at all times and how they were involved in decisions regarding their care and treatment. We did not receive any comment cards prior to our inspection as this was unannounced.

Our key findings were:

• Staff reported incidents and kept records of these which the practice used for shared learning.
• The practice was visibly clean and well maintained.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with current best practice guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and other published guidance.
• The practice had effective safeguarding processes and staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD).
• The practice took into account any comments, concerns or complaints and used these to help them improve the practice.
• Patients were pleased with the care and treatment they received and complimentary about the dentists and all other members of the practice team.

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

• All staff to complete Mental Capacity Act 2005 training.

We found that patients were given sufficient information about treatment and costs at Riverview Dental Centre. Patients told us that "Treatment is explained" and that they "Signed consent to treatment". Leaflet and information notices were displayed in reception.

Patients were positive about the treatment they received. One patient said they were "Happy with the Practice" and another told us "I had numerous other dentists but stayed at this one". There were good systems in place for getting feedback from patients and we found that feedback forms were regularly monitored by the provider. However one patient said "I've not been asked for my opinion".

All parts of the dentist were clean and appeared hygienic. We saw that there were effective procedures in place for infection control and that staff had been appropriately trained. One patient said that it was "Clean and tidy".

Staff were aware of their responsibilities in protecting and safeguarding patients. We found that staff had received up to date training in safeguarding and that any issues or concerns were reported appropriately.

There was a robust system in place for monitoring the quality and effectiveness of treatment at the Practice. We found that the provider was aware of where improvements could be made and took action to make sure these were carried out.