We carried out this announced inspection on 08 April 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 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

St Marys Street Dental Surgery is a well-established practice based in Bungay that provides both NHS and private dental treatment to patients. The dental team includes two dentists, two dental nurses and reception staff. There is one treatment room.

The practice opens on Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 5pm.

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 21 CQC comment cards completed by patients. We spoke with two dentists, a nurse and the receptionist.

We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

Our key findings were:

• Information from completed Care Quality Commission comment cards gave us a positive picture of a caring and professional service.
• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• Patients received their care and treatment from well supported staff, who enjoyed their work.
• Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• Members of the dental team were up-to-date with their continuing professional development and were supported to meet the requirements of their professional registration.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.

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

• Review the practice’s system for documentation of actions taken and learning shared, in response to incidents with a view to preventing further occurrences and ensuring that improvements are made as a result.

• Review the management of prescription pads in the practice and ensure there are systems in place to track and monitor their use.

• Review practice's recruitment procedures to ensure that appropriate background checks are completed prior to new staff commencing employment at the practice.

People who used the service were happy with the care and treatment they received. One person said, “I am very happy with my treatment.” Another person said, “I’ve had really good treatment.” A further person said, “I am happy with my treatment.”

We saw that people were treated in a polite and respectful manner by the staff at the service.

There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection and the staff were well trained and supported. People told us, “It’s very clean and tidy, very professional.” Another said, “It always looks clean.”

Staff were able to demonstrate that they could identify the signs of abuse and that any concerns would be reported to an appropriate authority who could provide advice on who to report such issues to.

Adequate policies and checks were in place in relation to the recruitment of staff. We saw that the staff were knowledgeable and well trained. All professional staff were registered with the regulatory body for dentist professionals, the General Dental Council (GDC).

The provider had an effective system in place to deal with complaints.