We carried out this announced inspection on 29 May 2018 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

South View Dental Centre is in Newcastle and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.

The dental team includes six dentists (including the principal dentist), six dental nurses (one of whom is a trainee), a dental therapist, a practice administrator, a support lead and two receptionists. The practice has four treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the practice is run.

On the day of inspection, we collected 20 CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, four dental nurses, the support lead and the practice administrator. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 7.30am to 5.30pm

Thursday 8.30am to 7pm

Friday 8.30am to 3pm

Saturday 9am to 1pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which mostly reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available -apart from a child air mask.
• The practice had some systems to help them manage risks. The practice did not have a fire risk assessment of the premises nor had undertaken risk assessments for hazardous substances held on-site.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had staff recruitment procedures. The process for monitoring immunisation status of staff required reviewing.
• 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 and culture of continuous improvement.
• 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.
• The practice had suitable information governance arrangements.
• The practice was providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health in line with current guidelines. Dental care was provided as part of the NHS prototyping pilot to increase access and improve dental health.
• The practice was involved in training programmes for newly qualified dentists.

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

• Review the practice's recruitment policy and procedures to ensure accurate, complete and detailed records are maintained for all staff.
• Review the need to undertake and document a fire risk assessment of the premises.
• Review the practice's policy for hazardous substances identified by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, to ensure risk assessments are undertaken.
• Review the practice’s arrangements for receiving and responding to patient safety alerts, recalls and rapid response reports issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Central Alerting System and other relevant bodies, such as Public Health England.
• Review the practice’s infection control procedures and protocols taking into account the guidelines issued by the Department of Health in the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices, and having regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance’.

The patients we spoke with were satisfied staff at the practice listened to their views, showed them respect and involved them in decisions about their care and treatment. We found patients’ privacy was respected and promoted.

Patients told us they were very happy with the care and treatment they received at South View Dental Centre. Patients said: “I receive a really great service from really good staff who look after me well”; “The dentist I see really takes her time to explain things to me. She listens to me. She checks things out with me. I always know what she is doing”; “Can’t speak highly enough of the staff. They are so good and I know I’ll always receive a good service.”

Patients who used the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening.

The surgeries were clean and hygienic. Patients were satisfied with the levels of cleanliness at the practice. Although we identified some concerns during our inspection, the provider took immediate action to address these.

Effective staff recruitment and selection processes were in place. We found steps had been taken to make sure only suitable staff were employed at the practice.