We carried out this announced inspection on 15 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

The Dental Surgery is in Rastrick and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

Due to the nature of the premises, wheelchair access is not possible. Domiciliary visits are available for patients who cannot access the practice. Car parking spaces, including one for blue badge holders, are available near the practice.

The dental team includes four dentists, six dental nurses and a receptionist. The practice has two treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a company and as a condition of registration must have a person registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. Registered managers 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 registered manager at The Dental Surgery is the principal dentist.

On the day of inspection, we collected 61 CQC comment cards filled in by patients and received feedback from 21 patients in the two weeks prior to the inspection through the CQC share your experience process.

During the inspection we spoke with four dentists and two dental nurses. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

Monday from 8:45am to 5:30pm

Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:00am to 5:30pm

Thursday from 8:45am to 7:00pm

Friday from 9:00am to 4:30pm

Our key findings were:

• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• The provider 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 to patients and staff.
• The provider had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• The provider had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• 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.
• Staff were providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system took account of patients’ needs.
• The practice was part of the local community and staff went “above and beyond” to help their patients. Patient feedback was wholly positive.
• The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The provider asked patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

• Review the practice’s protocols to ensure audits of radiography and dental care records are practitioner specific.
• Review the fire safety risk assessment and ensure that ongoing fire safety management is effective.

We spoke with four people who use the service, one person had recently registered with the practice and they told us they had been very impressed with the service provided to date. Three other people had been registered with the practice for a considerable number of years. They all told us that they were very satisfied with the service provided, they felt at ease with the dentist and staff. They all confirmed that their dental treatment and costs were fully explained, staff were polite and courteous.

One person said ‘It’s a family friendly practice’. Two people told us they travelled considerable distances to attend their appointments, because they had confidence with the dentist and staff.

We saw staff interacting with people attending for their treatments in a polite and respectful manner. We heard people following their treatment commenting to the receptionist on their satisfaction of the service.