We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 3 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

Background

Southport House Dental Practice offers mainly NHS (approximately 99%) and private dental care services to patients of all ages. The services provided include preventative advice and treatment and routine and restorative dental care. The practice has four treatment rooms, a large waiting room, a reception area and a decontamination room situated on the ground floor of the premises. The practice is open Monday to Friday from 9.00am until 6.00pm.

The practice is a training practice for the Dental Foundation Training (DFT) scheme. DFT provides postgraduate dental education for newly qualified dentists in their first (foundation) year of practice; usually within general dental practices. The principal dentist is a trainer for the DFT scheme and provides clinical and educational supervision. The practice currently has one full time dentist who is in their first (foundation) year of practice.

The practice has five dentists, five qualified dental nurses and a trainee dental nurse; in addition to three receptionists. One self-employed part-time dental therapist provides treatment to both NHS and private patients attending the practice, under the prescription of a dentist.

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.

We viewed 47 CQC comment cards that had been left for patients to complete, prior to our visit, about the services provided. In addition we spoke with three patients on the day of our inspection. We reviewed patient feedback gathered by the practice from the NHS Friends and Family Test. Feedback from patients was overwhelmingly positive about the care they received from the practice. They commented staff were caring and respectful and that they had confidence in the dental services provided. Patients told us they had no difficulties in arranging a convenient appointment and that staff put them at ease and listened to their concerns.

Our key findings were:

• There were systems in place to help ensure the safety of staff and patients including health and safety, infection prevention and control and the management of medical emergencies.
• The practice carried out oral health assessments and planned treatment in line with current best practice guidance, for example from the Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP). Patient dental care records were detailed and showed on-going monitoring of patients’ oral health.
• Patients commented they felt involved in their treatment and that it was fully explained to them. Patients told us they were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed. There were clear instructions for patients regarding out of hours care.

• The dental practice had systems to monitor and continually improve the quality of the service.
• There were clearly defined leadership roles within the practice and staff told us they felt well supported and comfortable to raise concerns or make suggestions.
• Staff were supported to maintain their continuing professional development (CPD) and had undertaken training appropriate to their roles.

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

• Review recruitment procedures and how documentation relating to staff recruitment and employment is retained; in order to establish a clear recruitment process and maintain complete and easily accessible staff records.
• Review at appropriate intervals the training, learning and development needs of individual staff members as part of an on-going process of staff support and supervision.

During our inspection visit we spoke with three patients who had or were about to receive treatment. Patents told us they were happy with the service they received They told us they received a good standard of care and treatment and they spoke highly about the support they received from the staff. A person commented on the very kind, friendly nature of the staff and said, "Nothing was too much trouble for them (staff)."

People confirmed their appointment times were flexible to meet their needs.

People told us they received appropriate information about the choice of treatment available to them. They told us their consultations took place in private and the staff were helpful and polite at all times.

People spoken with confirmed they felt confident asking the staff questions about their treatments. They told us their treatment options were explained fully to them. One person said, "I know what I am here for and everything is always explained to me." People said they were also asked to give their consent to their treatment. This meant people were able to make informed decisions about what treatments were best for them.

People confirmed the practice was always kept clean. A person said, "The surgery is always spotlessly clean."