We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 02 September 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

Slipshoe Street Dental Surgery is located in Reigate, Surrey. The practice is situated in a converted listed building. There are seven treatment rooms, a decontamination room, an office, a reception area, patient and staff toilets, a large waiting area and a staff room with a kitchen. These are distributed across the ground and first floors of the building.

The practice provides NHS and private services to adults and children. The practice offers a range of dental services including routine examinations and treatment, veneers and crowns and bridges.

The staff structure of the practice consists of two principal partners who are dentists, seven associate dentists, nine dental nurses, two dental hygienists, four reception staff and a practice manager and reception manager.

The practice opening hours are Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 5.15pm.

The reception manager 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.

The inspection took place over one day and was carried out by a CQC inspector and a dental specialist advisor.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission (CQC) comments cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We collected 39 completed cards. All the comments received were positive about the care that patients received from the practice. They were complimentary about the friendly and caring attitude of the staff.

Our key findings were:

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned in line with current guidance such as from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

• There were effective systems in place to reduce and minimise the risk and spread of infection.

• The practice had effective safeguarding processes in place and staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.

• Staff reported incidents and kept records of these which the practice used for shared learning.

• There were effective arrangements in place for managing medical emergencies.

• Equipment, such as the air compressor, autoclave (steriliser), fire extinguishers, and X-ray equipment had all been checked for effectiveness and had been regularly serviced.

• Patients indicated that they felt they were listened to and that they received good care from a helpful and caring practice team.

• The practice ensured staff maintained the necessary skills and competence to support the needs of patients.

• The practice had implemented clear procedures for managing comments, concerns or complaints.

• The provider had a clear vision for the practice and staff told us they were well supported by the management team.

• Governance arrangements and audits were effective in improving the quality and safety of the services.