West Square Dental Practice

We carried out this announced inspection on 8 August 2017 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.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was mostly clean and well maintained. We found there was scope to improve the environmental cleaning of the carpets.
• The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• Patients provided positive feedback about the service and the staff.
• Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
• The practice 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.
• Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs. Patients reported they could get appointments when they needed them.
• The practice had effective leadership. Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team. We saw that staff appraisals were a new process to the practice and were being introduced as an annual review.
• The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The practice valued patient feedback and had a process to deal with complaints positively and efficiently.

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

• Review the practice’s systems in place for environmental cleaning taking into account current national guidelines.
• Review the current performance review systems in place and have an effective process established for the on-going assessment and supervision of all staff.
• Review its responsibilities to the needs of people with a disability, including those with hearing difficulties and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.