We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 18 August 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

This specialist practice provides private treatment only to adult patients who have been referred from general dentists and other dental and medical specialists from the Yorkshire area and beyond. The dentist provides advice and treatment in restorative dentistry, prosthodontics, periodontics, and endodontics and implant dentistry.

The dental practice has one treatment room on the ground floor and one on the first floor. There is a waiting/ reception area a decontamination room, staff room/kitchen and office area. There are accessible toilet facilities on the ground floor of the premises. There is limited private parking outside the practice.

The practice has a dentist, an associate dentist, hygienist,  dental therapist and three dental nurse/reception staff.

The practice is open Monday 9am-2pm then 5pm-9pm, Wednesday 8:30am-6:00pm, Thursday 8:30am-6:00pm, Friday 9:30am-3:00pm and Saturday 8:30am-4:30pm.

The principal dentist is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as an individual. 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.

Before the inspection we sent CQC comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We received feedback from nine patients which all gave positive comments about the care and treatment received at the practice. The patients who provided feedback were very positive about the care and attention to treatment they received at the practice. They told us they could access emergency care easily and staff were sensitive to their needs and were particularly good if they were nervous or anxious about treatment.

Our key findings were:

• Staff had received safeguarding training, knew how to recognise signs of abuse and how to report it. They had very good systems in place to work closely and share information with the local safeguarding team.
• There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
• Staff were qualified and had received training appropriate to their roles.
• Treatment was provided in line with current guidelines including the Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
• Oral health advice and treatment were provided in-line with the ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’ toolkit (DBOH).
• The practice had systems to assess and manage risks to patients, including infection prevention and control and health and safety.
• Patients received clear explanations about their proposed treatment, costs, benefits and risks and were involved in making decisions about it.
• We observed that patients were treated with kindness and respect by staff. Staff ensured there was sufficient time to explain fully the care and treatment they were providing in a way patients understood.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed. The practice had a complaints system in place and there was an openness and transparency in how these were dealt with.

There were clearly defined leadership roles within the practice and staff told us that they felt supported, appreciated and comfortable to raise concerns or make suggestions.