We carried out this announced inspection on 19 December 2017 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

Rochester Dental Clinic is in Rochester and provides NHS and private treatment to patients of all ages.

The practice is in a listed building and cannot provide level access for people who use wheelchairs and pushchairs. Car parking spaces, including some for patients with disabled badges, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes two dentists, three dental nurses, and a receptionist/administrator. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a partnership and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. Registered managers have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run. The registered manager at Rochester Dental Clinic was the principal dentist.

On the day of inspection we collected 11CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with three other patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice, although three patients requested the carpet in the practice was replaced.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, three dental nurses, and the receptionist/administrator. 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 6pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice was clean and well maintained although a carpet in reception required replacing.
• The practice 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 had suitable safeguarding processes and staff 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 appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership. 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 dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.

At our last inspection on 30 November 2012 we found that records were not always stored securely and in a confidential manner. During this visit we found that improvements had been made. We saw that all paper records were stored securely in a locked room.

During our visit we looked a patient records and record storage systems. We spoke with staff who were working at the clinic.

We spoke with one person about the care and treatment they received. They told us that they liked the practice and had been a patient there for 'sometime' and had no complaints about the service or the staff. The person said "I am always told what my plan of treatment is going to be and I am always informed how much it will cost."

During the inspection we spoke with staff and looked at patients' records, staff records, policies and procedures. Staff we spoke with told us that they enjoyed working at the service.

We found that the practice provided a clean environment for treating patients and equipment used was satisfactorily maintained.

We found that the practice provided almost all of the mandatory training for staff, and ensured this was kept up to date. Where there were shortfalls, the provider had taken steps to rectify this.

We saw that records were not always stored securely and in a confidential manner. Records were however, well maintained and appropriately completed.