We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 22 March 2017 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

Station Plaza is a general dental practice in Hastings, East Sussex, offering NHS and private dental treatment to adults and children. The practice also offers sedation services for patients who have been referred from other dental practices in the area. The practice is situated in the centre of Hastings.

The practice has three treatment rooms, a decontamination room for the cleaning and sterilising of instruments and a reception/waiting area. The main entrance to the practice is located on the fourth floor of the building which is accessed at ground level via a lift or stairs. There is a car park situated at basement level with allocated spaces for patients with a blue badge.

The practice is open Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8.30am to 6.30pm, Tuesdays from 8.30am to 8.00pm and Saturdays from 9.00am to 1.00pm.

Station Plaza has two principal dentists, three associate dentists, 14 dental nurses (two of whom are trainees), one hygienist, six receptionists, an administrative manager and a clinical manager.

One of the principal dentists is also 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.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission (CQC) comments cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We collected 26 completed cards. All of the comments cards provided a positive view of the service the practice provides. Patients commented that staff were professional, caring and friendly.

Our key findings were:

• There were systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. The practice was visibly clean and well maintained.
• There were systems in place to check all equipment had been serviced regularly, including the steriliser, fire extinguishers, oxygen cylinder and the X-ray equipment.
• The practice had effective systems in place to gain the comments and views of people who used the service.
• Patients were satisfied with the treatment they received and were complimentary about staff at the practice.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their professional development.
• We observed that staff showed a caring and attentive approach towards patients. All patients were recognised and greeted warmly on arrival at reception.
• The practice had effective safeguarding processes in place and staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• Staff told us they were proud of the practice and their team. Staff told us they felt well supported and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.

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

• Review the practice's recruitment policy and procedures to ensure accurate, complete and detailed records are maintained for all staff.
• Implement a robust system of providing fire training to all members of staff.
• Establish an effective process for the annual appraisal of all staff and review at appropriate intervals the training, learning and development needs of individual staff members.
• Review staff training to manage medical emergencies taking into account guidelines issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK), and the General Dental Council (GDC) standards for the dental team.