We carried out this announced inspection on 9 June 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.

Our key findings were:

• We found that the practice ethos was to provide high quality patient dental care in a relaxed and friendly environment.
• The practice was clean and well maintained.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with medical 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 vulnerable adults and children.
• The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• Conscious sedation was carried out in accordance with current guidelines.
• 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.
• Information we obtained from all the 39 Care Quality Commission cards provided positive feedback.

We identified areas of notable practice;

• The practice had a population approach to oral health promotion and preventative care to all people in the community. This ranged from school visits, open days with tours of the clinic and oral hygiene demonstrations and monthly newsletters giving the latest health, practice and local community information for patients. In particular we heard from people of how this learning had impacted on young patients and led to improvements in their knowledge, understanding and confidence when attending the dental surgery.

We found that dental care was provided according to people's assessed needs and people were asked for their views about the service. The lead dentist told us that they had been able to design the layout to provide an environment that supported efficient and safe working and an effective service for people attending for dental care. We saw that the waiting area was welcoming and had a range of information about dental care and oral hygiene.

We spoke with three staff who told us about the quality checking and safety measures at the clinic to ensure a high quality and safe service. We saw that the service had effective audit systems to monitor cleanliness and safety. We found that staff were well trained and had the skills required to provide effective and safe care.

We spoke with two people to find out what it was like attending Essex Dental Clinic. People told us they were happy with the service. One person told us they “Always had their plan of treatment fully explained” and that they were very confident in attending the service. We saw satisfaction surveys and visitor books in which people had provided positive comments about the service.