We spoke with patients who told us that the dental services were “the best.” They had been well informed about the dental treatment they were going to receive. The dentists answered all their queries. They told us that the place was clean. One person told us how they needed emergency treatment once and found that dentist very helpful in arranging to be seen quickly.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 15 December 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

Wessex Dental Specialist Centre is a dental practice providing specialist private treatment for both adults and children and oral surgery services under NHS arrangements. The oral surgery services are commissioned by local NHS commissioners of services. The practice is based in purpose-built premises in Fareham, a town situated in south Hampshire.

The practice has nine dental treatment rooms. Two of which are based on the ground floor and separate dedicated decontamination room used for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. The ground floor is accessible to wheelchair users, prams and patients with limited mobility.

The practice employs 15 dentists, two hygienists, 15 dental nurse, eight reception staff and a practice manager.

The practice’s opening hours are between 8am and 7pm on Monday, 8am and 8pm Tuesday, 8am and 6pm on Wednesday and Thursday and 8am and 5pm on Friday.

There are arrangements in place to ensure patients receive urgent medical assistance when the practice is closed.

The practice manager is the registered manager. 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 practice is run.

We obtained the views of 11 patients on the day of our inspection.

Our key findings were:

• We found that the practice ethos was to provide high quality specialist and general dental care in a relaxed and friendly environment.
• Effective leadership was provided by senior clinicians at the practice and an empowered practice manager.
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice 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 practice followed published guidance.
• The practice had a safeguarding lead with 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 in the practice.
• Dentists provided dental care in accordance with current specialist 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 practice 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 company.
• Staff we spoke with felt well supported by the senior clinicians and practice manager and were committed to providing a high-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:

• Consider providing the hygienist with the support of an appropriately trained member of the dental team.
• Review the security of the domestic waste bin adjacent to the practice as this presents an arson risk.
• Provide an annual statement in relation to infection prevention control required under The Health and Social Care Act 2008: Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.
• Review the safety arrangements of the window blinds in the practice, this could include either ensuring the pull cords are made secure or carrying out a suitable risk assessment in relation to the pull cords.
• Review the fire safety governance systems and processes for the practice including fire evacuation times and availability of routes and fire safety training.
• Review the suitability of having an evacuation chair on the premises when trained staff are unavailable.
• Review the facilities in the patient toilet to ensure that the waste bin meets the needs of wheelchair users.