Mydentist - Station Road - Hednesford Also known as mydentist

Updated 11 March 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 took place on 7 January 2016 and was The inspection was led by a dentally qualified CQC inspector who had access to remote advice from a dental specialist advisor. Prior to the inspection, we asked the practice to send us some information that we reviewed. This included the complaints they had received in the last 12 months, their latest statement of purpose, and the details of their staff members and proof of registration with their professional bodies.

We informed NHS England area team that we were inspecting the practice; however, we did not receive any information of concern from them.

During the inspection, we spoke with the practice manager, dentists, lead dental nurse, reception staff and reviewed policies, procedures and other documents. We also obtained the views of 14 patients on the day of our visit. We reviewed nine comment cards that we had left prior to the inspection, for patients to complete, about the services provided 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 11 March 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 7 January 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

Mydentist Hednesford is a mixed dental practice providing mainly NHS and some private treatment for both adults and children. The practice is situated in a converted domestic property. The practice had three dental treatment rooms and a separate decontamination room for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. Dental care was provided on two floors there was a reception and waiting area on the ground floor.

The practice is open 9:30am to 5:00pm Monday to Wednesday, Thursday 9:30am to 6:00pm, and Friday 9:30am to 4:00pm. The practice has three dentists who are supported by seven dental nurses and a receptionist. The practice also has a dental hygienist who works one day per month.

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.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission (CQC) comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We received feedback from 31 patients. These provided a completely positive view of the services the practice provides. All of the patients commented that the quality of care was very good.

Our key findings were:

• The practice ethos was to provide patient centred care.
• The practice benefitted from a stable staff base and an empowered practice manager who was supported by a lead dental nurse and lead dentist. These individuals provided robust leadership within the practice.
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice was visibly clean and well maintained.
• Infection control procedures were robust and the practice followed published guidance.
• The practice had a dedicated safeguarding lead with effective safeguarding processes in place for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• The service was aware of the needs of the local population and took those these into account in how the practice was run.
• Patients could access treatment and urgent and emergency care when required.
• Staff reported incidents and kept records of these which the practice used for shared learning.
• The practice had enough staff to deliver the service.
• Staff recruitment files were well organised and complete.
• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD).
• Staff we spoke to felt well supported by the practice manager and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.
• Information from 31 completed Care Quality Commission (CQC) comment cards gave us a completely positive picture of a friendly, professional service.
• The practice received no complaints in 2015. The last complaint was received in 2013.

The practice had a rolling programme of clinical and non-clinical audit in place.