We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 30 September 2015 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

THE Dentist @ KT3 is located in New Malden, in the London Borough of Kingston. The premises are in a residential property, with the practice located on the ground floor only. The practice consists of four treatment rooms, a waiting area and reception and a staff kitchen. There are also toilet facilities for both staff and patients.

The practice provides NHS and private dental services and treats both adults and children. The majority of services are provided under an NHS contract. The practice offers a range of dental services including routine examinations and treatment, veneers, crowns, bridges, dentures and oral hygiene.

The staff structure of the practice is comprised of the principal dentist; four associate dentists; a locum dentist; three dental nurses; two trainee dental nurses; a practice manager and a receptionist.

The practice is open from 8.30am-12.45pm on Monday to Thursday. It is open 2pm-5.45pm Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and 2pm-6.15pm on Tuesday. The practice is open from 8.30am-13.15pm on Friday and is closed on Friday afternoon and weekends.

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.

We spoke with three patients on the day of our inspection and received 35 completed CQC comment cards. Patients we spoke with, and those who completed CQC comment cards, were very positive about the care they received from the practice. They were complimentary about the friendly and caring attitude of the dental staff.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had good decontamination procedures for dental equipment and thorough checks of the decontamination equipment were carried out.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned in line with best practice guidance such as from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

• The practice ensured staff maintained the necessary skills and competence to support the needs of patients.

• Patients were very positive about their care; they felt listened to, involved in their care and found practice staff helpful and friendly.

• From reviewing comments cards and speaking to patients, all patients felt they received an excellent and efficient service.

• The practice provided a responsive service; patients were able to access emergency appointments on the day they needed them.

• The practice had a stable leadership structure and staff told us they were well supported by the management team.

• The practice routinely completed a range of risk assessments to identify health and safety risks and provided regular servicing for most equipment.
• We found that the governance arrangements including management of risks, policies and procedures and learning and improving from incidents and accidents were in place.

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

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

• Review recruitment procedures to ensure appropriate records of references are maintained for all staff.
• Review audit protocols to document learning points that are shared with all relevant staff and ensure that the resulting improvements can be demonstrated as part of the audit process.