Breeze Dental @ Ryhope

Updated 17 September 2015

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 registered provider was meeting their obligations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The inspection was carried out on 1 July 2015 and was led by a CQC Lead Inspector. The team also included a dentist specialist advisor.

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.

We informed NHS England area team that we were inspecting the practice; however, we did not receive any information of concern from them. We reviewed information received from the registered provider prior to the inspection.

The methods that were used to collect information at the inspection included talking to people using the service, their relatives / friends, interviewing staff, observations and review of documents.

During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, two dental nurses and the practice supervisor. We reviewed policies and procedures; saw four clinical patient records and other records relating to the management of the service. We reviewed six Care Quality Commission comment cards that had been completed and spoke with one patient.

Updated 17 September 2015

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 1July 2015 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

The practice is owned and run by an individual. They also run Breeze Dental Chester Road. Both practices are managed from the Chester Road location and follow the same policies and procedures. To cover both locations there are four dentists, three dental therapists, two qualified dentists undergoing supervised training in general practice, five extended duties dental nurses, 15 dental nurses and four trainee dental nurses. They are supported by an administration team which includes a business manager, practice manager, and practice principal.

The practice provides primary care dental services under the NHS. There are approximately 5,400 NHS patients.

The practice is open Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm and Friday 9am to 4.15pm.

The owner a dentist is the registered provider for the practice. 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.

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.

Eight patients provided feedback about the service. All the comments were positive about the staff and the services provided. Patients commented that the practice was clean, they found staff friendly and professional the service was always excellent.

Our key findings were:

• There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of patients.
• Staff had been trained to manage medical emergencies.
• Infection control procedures were in place in accordance with the published guidelines.
• Patient care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with evidence based guidelines, best practice and current regulations.
• Patients received clear explanations about their proposed treatment, costs benefits and risks and were involved in making decisions about it.
• Patients were treated with dignity and respect and confidentiality was maintained.
• The appointment system met patients’ needs.
• The governance systems were effective.
• The practice was well-led and staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The practice sought feedback from staff and patients about the services they provided.
• There was an effective complaints system. The practice recorded complaints and cascaded learning to staff.
• Staff had received safeguarding training, knew how to recognise signs of abuse and how to report it.