We carried out this announced inspection on 24 August 2018 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

Vallance, Segal & Shupac - Failsworth is in Failsworth, Manchester and provides NHS and private treatment to adults and children.

Portable ramps are provided for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. On street parking is available near the practice.

The dental team includes five dentists, comprising of two partners and three associate dentists, five dental nurses who also carry out reception duties, two part-time dental hygienists, and a practice manager. The practice has three treatment rooms.

The practice is owned by a partnership 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 Vallance, Segal & Shupac - Failsworth was the principal dentist.

On the day of inspection, we collected 50 CQC comment cards filled in by patients. Patients were positive about all aspects of the practice.

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

The practice is open:

Monday to Thursday 9am to 5.30pm

Friday 9am to 4pm

Our key findings were:

• The premises appeared clean and well maintained.
• The practice staff had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Minor improvements were needed to the life-saving equipment.
• The practice staff had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines and had systems to monitor the quality of care.
• Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• The practice was providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• Staff felt involved and supported. They communicated and worked well as a team.
• The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice staff dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The practice staff had suitable information governance arrangements.

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

• Review the practice’s arrangements for receiving and responding to patient safety alerts, recalls and rapid response reports issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Central Alerting System and other relevant bodies, such as Public Health England.

• Review the practice’s arrangements for ensuring good governance is sustained in the longer term. In particular; the process to review practice policies.

• Review the practice’s protocols to ensure audits of radiography and infection prevention and control have documented learning points and the resulting improvements can be demonstrated.

• Review the practice’s sharps procedures to ensure the practice is in compliance with the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013.

One person told us “It’s alright here. The dentist is very nice [and] they explain what needs to be done”. Others said they could “talk to the dentist and get good advice.” and “they are helpful and always explain what the position is”.

Patients said they were "very happy" with the practice and had "no complaints, just praise". One patient with mobility problems told us the practice offered "easy access". Other patients confirmed it was easy to get appointments and they were usually seen promptly on arrival.

The standard of the environment throughout the practice was good and appeared clean, tidy and well maintained. One patient we spoke with said it was "a lovely practice, very modern". Another told us "it's always clean here".

There were sufficient numbers of qualified staff employed to respond to unexpected changing circumstances at the practice such as sickness and absence. We saw that there was a programme of on-going training. Staff completed training at regular intervals to keep them up to date in areas such as infection prevention and control.

The provider had a complaints procedure in place.