We were able to speak to students and patients at the University of Portsmouth Dental Academy. They indicated they had been treated with dignity and respect. They expressed satisfaction with the care and treatment provided.

We spoke with five patients and they all made positive comments about students and members of staff. They told us they felt safe and had confidence in students and members of staff who treated them. Treatment had been given with patients’ agreement and consent.

We found the premises to be clean and well maintained. There were arrangements for infection control and the organisation undertook daily cleaning tasks. Students and staff were well informed and knowledgeable regarding infection control and decontamination procedures. Students provided care under supervision in this education environment

The dental academy had systems and processes to assess the provision of quality.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 18 October 2016 to ask the service the following key questions;

Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this service was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this service was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this service was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this service was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

University of Portsmouth Dental Academy provides dental care to patients which is delivered by dental hygiene therapy students attending Portsmouth University and dental students from King’s College London who attend Portsmouth University as part of their outreach teaching programme. All student treatments are supervised by clinical dental staff and are free to patients. The academy is based in purpose built premises owned by Portsmouth University situated in Portsmouth, a city on the south coast of Hampshire.

The academy has two suites of treatment bays situated on the east and west side of the building. These are based on the first floor, there is also a separate decontamination suite used for cleaning, sterilising, packing and storage of dental instruments. The first floor is reached by lift and is accessible to wheelchair users, prams and patients with limited mobility.

The academy employs 30 academic staff, 13 administration staff, 15 dental nurses, and three technical staff.

The academy’s opening hours are between 8.30am and 5pm from Monday to Thursday and 8.30am and 4pm on Friday.

There are arrangements in place to ensure patients receive urgent medical assistance when the academy is closed. This is provided by an NHS out-of-hours service.

The business manager and clinical director are the registered managers. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. 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 service is run.

We obtained the views of 30 patients on the day of our inspection.

Our key findings were:

• We found that the service ethos was to provide high quality patient centred dental care in a relaxed and friendly environment.
• Effective leadership was provided by the clinical directors and an empowered business manager.

• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The service appeared clean and well maintained.
• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was well maintained.
• Infection control procedures were robust and the service followed published guidance.
• The service had a safeguarding lead and effective processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• There was a process in place for the reporting and shared learning when untoward incidents occurred.
• Dental care was provided in accordance with current dental academic, professional and National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
• The service was aware of the needs of the local population and took these into account in how the service was run.
• Patients could access treatment and urgent and emergency care when required.
• Staff received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD) by the academy.
• Staff we spoke with felt well supported by the clinical directors and business manager and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.

• Information from 12 completed Care Quality Commission (CQC) comment cards gave us a positive picture of a friendly, caring, professional and high quality service.

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

• Review opening times listed outside building to ensure they match with written patient information.