We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 18 October 2016 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

Trinity Dental Surgery has three dentists who work part time, a part time hygienist, one qualified dental nurse who is registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) and two trainee dental nurses. The practice’s opening hours are 8.30am to 5.30pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 8.30am to 1pm on Wednesday and 8.30am to 3.30pm on Friday.

Trinity Dental Surgery provides NHS dental treatment for adults and children. The practice has two dental treatment rooms on the ground floor and one dental treatment room on the first floor. There is a separate decontamination room for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. There was also a reception and waiting area on the ground floor.

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.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission comments cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice and during the inspection we spoke with patients. We received feedback from 19 patients who provided an overwhelmingly positive view of the services the practice provides. All of the patients commented that the quality of care was good and staff were professional and knowledgeable.

Our key findings were

• Systems were in place for the recording and learning from significant events and accidents.
• There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect.
• The practice was visibly clean and well maintained.
• Infection control procedures were in place with infection prevention and control audits being undertaken on a three monthly basis. Staff had access to personal protective equipment such as gloves and aprons.
• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was well maintained.
• The provider had emergency medicines in line with the British National Formulary (BNF) guidance for medical emergencies in dental practice.
• Staff had been trained to deal with medical emergencies.
• The appointment system met the needs of patients and waiting times were kept to a minimum.
• The practice was well-led and staff felt involved and worked as a team.
• Governance arrangements were in place for the smooth running of the practice and there was a structured plan in place to audit quality and safety beyond the mandatory audits for infection control and radiography.

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

• Review the recruitment procedures and protocols to ensure that all pre-employment information is obtained in line with Schedule 3 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014

• Review the practice’s fire safety procedures and ensure that regular checks are made of all firefighting equipment including emergency lighting, that all staff are involved in fire drills on a regular basis and that the practice undertakes and records details regarding a robust fire risk assessment.

During this inspection we spoke with the manager / dentist, two other dentists, two dental nurses and one other member of staff. We also spoke with ten people that used the service.

We found that people had the information they needed to help them make choices about their treatment. One person told us, "The dentist makes me aware of the different options and any costs."

People told us that they had no concerns about the care and treatment that they received. One person told us, "I have used the dentist for years and have always been very happy with everything there."

We found that people received care and treatment in a visibly clean and hygienic environment. One person told us, "It always looks very clean to me." This meant that the risks of cross infection were reduced.

We found effective recruitment processes were in place. This meant that suitably qualified and experienced people were employed.

We found that the provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service that people received. We found that people's feedback had been listened to and the provider had taken action to improve the services offered.