We carried out this announced inspection on 19 April 2017 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

The Behrens Dental Practice in Kensington, London provides private dental treatment to patients of all ages.

Practice staffing consists of the principal dentist, one associate dentist, one endodontist, one orthodontist, one hygienist, one hygienist/therapist, two dental nurses, one receptionist and a practice manager.

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.

The practice is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 9am to 6pm, Tuesday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm.

The practice facilities include four treatment rooms, a decontamination room, reception/waiting area office/X-ray room and staff room.

On the day of inspection we collected 25 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and spoke with four other patients. This information gave us a positive view of the practice. Patients told us that they were happy with the treatment and advice they had received.

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

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
• Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The practice had effective leadership. Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures. However improvements could be made

Staff explained that treatments would be first discussed with people before they were provided and they were given written copies of their treatment plans. We spoke with two people using the service. They told us that staff were "very careful" to explain what treatments involved and their costs. We also reviewed the results of a patient feedback survey conducted in August 2013 to which 18 people had responded. When asked about the friendliness of staff the majority of people rated the practice as either "outstanding" or "very good".

The people we spoke to described the practice as "brilliant" and "excellent". In the patient feedback survey all respondents said they would recommend the practice and that it lived up to their expectations. When asked about how happy they were with their treatment and result the majority of respondents gave ratings of "outstanding" or "very good". Before treatment was provided people's dental and medical histories were taken to ensure it was safe for them to undergo treatment.

People were cared for in a clean, hygienic environment. There were appropriate policies and procedures in place for the decontamination, sterilisation and storage of re-usable clinical equipment.

Staff undertook annual mandatory training in appropriate topics and completed the further training necessary to maintain their professional registrations. The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive.