St George's Dental Practice

Updated 7 January 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The inspection was carried out on 30 September 2015 by a lead inspector and a dental specialist advisor.

Before the inspection we reviewed information that we held about the provider and information that we asked them to send us in advance of the inspection. This included their statement of purpose and information about staff working at the practice.

During the inspection we spoke with three dentists (one of whom was the principal dentist), one dental nurse and one receptionist.

We looked around the premises and the treatment rooms. We reviewed a range of policies and procedures and other documents including dental records.

We reviewed 13 CQC comments cards during the inspection and spoke to four patients who were registered at the practice.

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 therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 7 January 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 30 September 2015 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.

St George’s Dental Practice is a general dental practice in Brighton, East Sussex, offering NHS and private dental treatment to adults and children.

The practice is situated in the centre of Brighton. The practice has three dental treatment rooms, a decontamination room for the cleaning, sterilising and packing of dental instruments, two waiting areas and a reception area. The treatment rooms are located on the ground floor and first floor. The practice has disabled access at the front of the building and patients with mobility difficulties can be treated on the ground floor.

The practice is open Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.30pm and Saturday 9.00am to 1.00pm.

St George’s Dental Practice has four dentists (one of whom is the registered manager), five dental nurses (two of whom are trainees) and one hygienist. The clinical team are supported by two receptionists. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.

Before the inspection we sent CQC comments cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We collected 13 completed cards. All of the comments cards provided a positive view of the service the practice provides. Patients commented that staff were professional, friendly and supportive. Patients wrote that they were treated with dignity and care. Two patients also commented that the environment was clean and hygienic. We also spoke with four patients during our inspection who were highly satisfied with the treatment and support they received at the practice.

Our key findings were:

• There were systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. The practice was visibly clean and well maintained.
• The practice had effective systems in place to gain the comments and views of people who used the service.
• Patients were highly satisfied with the treatment they received and were complimentary about staff at the practice.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD).
• We observed that staff showed a caring approach towards patients. All patients were greeted warmly on arrival at reception.
• The dental care records we looked at provided full and accurate details of the treatment and care which patients received.

• The practice had effective safeguarding processes in place and staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• Staff were proud of the practice and their team. Staff felt well supported and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.