We carried out this announced inspection on 12 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

T2 Dental is in Plymouth provides private treatment to adults. NHS treatment is available to children of parents paying privately for their treatment.

There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. However, the practice toilet facilities are not fully accessible. Car parking spaces are available near the practice.

The dental team includes one dentist, two dental nurses, one trainee dental nurse, one dental hygienists, one receptionist and a practice manager. The practice has two 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 50 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. Overall this gave us a positive view of the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with the dentist, one dental nurse, one trainee dental nurse and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open: Monday to Thursday 8am – 6pm. Friday 8am – 12pm.

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The practice staff had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
• The practice staff had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice carried out essential staff recruitment checks.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Staff treated patients with dignity 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 worked well as a team.
• The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice had not received any complaints in the last 12 months.
• The practice staff had suitable information governance arrangements.

There was an area where the provider could make improvements. They should:

• Review the practice’s protocols to ensure that, where appropriate, audits have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.

We spoke with three patients who were receiving treatment on the day of our visit. All these patients were happy overall with the treatment they had received. Where appropriate they had been given treatment options and the information they needed to be able to make their choice. They felt that their decisions and opinions were respected by the staff.

We found that patients were given appropriate information about their treatment. Information was collected and updated about patient's medical conditions to ensure patients remained safe when being treated. Equipment was available and staff trained to deal with medical emergencies.

There was a commitment on the part of the provider to staff training and development and by all staff themselves to remaining appropriately trained and enhance their knowledge and skills.

Patient records were compiled and maintained adequately and stored and, where appropriate, destroyed securely.