Archived: Ponte Dental Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 16 February 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

Ponte Dental Practice is situated in Featherstone, West Yorkshire. It offers mainly NHS treatment to patients of all ages but also offers private dental treatments. The services include preventative advice and treatment and routine restorative dental care.

The practice has two surgeries, a decontamination room, a waiting area and a reception area. The reception area, waiting area and one surgery are on the ground floor. The other surgery is on the first floor. There are accessible toilet facilities on the ground floor of the premises.

There are two dentists, one dental nurse, one receptionist and a practice manager. The two dentists are currently going through the process of buying the practice from the registered provider.

The opening hours are Monday to Thursday from 9-00am to 5-30pm and Friday from 9-00am to 5-00pm.

The practice manager is the registered manager. 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.

During the inspection we received feedback from 44 patients. The patients were positive about the care and treatment they received at the practice. Comments included that the premises were clean and tidy and that staff were helpful and happy. Patients also commented that their wishes for treatment were always respected and that treatment was well explained.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had systems in place to assess and manage risks to patients and staff including infection prevention, control and health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.
• Staff were qualified and had received training appropriate to their roles.
• Dental care records were detailed and showed that treatment was planned in line with current best practice guidelines.
• Oral health advice and treatment were provided in-line with the ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’ toolkit (DBOH).
• We observed that patients were treated with kindness and respect by staff. Staff ensured there was sufficient time to explain fully the care and treatment they were providing in a way patients understood.
• Patients were involved in making decisions about their treatment and were given clear explanations about their proposed treatment including costs, benefits and risks.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed.
• The practice actively engaged with the local community to encourage better oral health.
• The practice had a complaints system in place and there was an openness and transparency in how these were dealt with.

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

• Check the medical emergency drugs on a monthly basis.