We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 16 December 2015 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.

Smile Dental Cliniq is located in the London Borough of Camden. The practice is on two floors, with one treatment room and a toilet on the ground floor and another in the basement. There is also a reception and waiting area.

The practice provides private dental services and treats both adults and children. The practice offers a range of dental services including routine examinations and treatment.

The staff structure of the practice comprises of two principal dentists, an associate dentist, two dental nurses, two receptionists and a practice manager. The practice was open Tuesday from 10am-7pm, Wednesday and Thursday from 8am-6pm, and Saturday from 9am-5pm.

Smile Cliniq is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as an organisation. 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.

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

We received feedback from three patients. The feedback from the patients was positive in relation to the care they 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 best practice guidance, such as from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

• Equipment, such as the air compressor, autoclave (steriliser), 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 patient practice team.

• There was a complaints procedure available for patients.

• The practice had good governance arrangements and a clear management structure.

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

• Review the practice’s arrangements for recording the induction of agency staff.
• Review the protocols and procedures to ensure staff are up to date with their mandatory training and their Continuing Professional Development (CPD).Review its current systems to seek and act on patient feedback.
• Review the handling of sharps to ensure compliance with the European Directive (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) regulation 2013.
• Review its audit protocol for X-rays. Practice should ensure all audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.
• Review the practice’s arrangements for sharing and learning from safety alerts.
• Review the practice's recruitment policy and procedures in line with Schedule 3 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 to ensure necessary employment checks are in place for all staff and the required specified information in respect of persons employed by the practice is held.

We carried out this announced inspection on 15 February 2019 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 Care Quality Commission (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

Smile Cliniq Limited is in St Johns Wood, North London. The practice provides private treatment to adults and children.

Limited car parking spaces, including those for blue badge holders, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes a practice manager, seven dentists (two of whom are the practice’s directors), three trainee dental nurses and two receptionists.

The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by company, and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the CQC 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 Smile Cliniq Limited is one of the practice directors who is also a dentist at the practice.

On the day of inspection, we obtained feedback from 28 patients. This included speaking with patients during the inspection and reviewing CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists (including one of the practice’s directors), a trainee dental nurse, a receptionist and the practice manager. We checked practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open at the following times:

Monday and Thursday: 9am to 8pm

Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday: 9am to 6pm

Saturday: 9am to 5pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• 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.
• Staff were providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.
• The provider had infection control procedures; they implemented improvements immediately after the inspection to ensure all of these reflected published guidance.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• The provider had staff recruitment procedures; improvements were required to ensure all key checks as required were undertaken and documented suitably.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

• Review practice's recruitment procedures to ensure that appropriate background checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice.
• Review the practice’s protocols for ensuring that all clinical staff have adequate immunity for vaccine preventable infectious diseases.