Wantage House Dental Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 2 February 2017 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

Wantage House Dental Practice is part of a corporate dental body providing routine and complex care for patients of all ages. The practice sees patients under NHS regulations and private contract. The practice provides primary dental care services for people who require dental procedures. The practice is a located in a former chapel and had been adapted as a dental practice in 2011. Patients with mobility issues can use level access to the building and a surgery.

There are three dental surgeries and an oral health room. Approximately 16,000 patients are registered at the practice.

The staff structure of the practice consists of four dentists, two dental nurses, four trainee dental nurses, a receptionist, practice manager and area manager.

The practice opening hours are Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm and Saturday 8am to 1pm. There was an answer phone message directing patients to emergency contact numbers when the practice is closed.

The practice is currently recruiting an individual who will apply to become 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.

The inspection took place over one day and was carried out by a CQC inspector and specialist dental advisor.

We obtained the feedback of four patients on the day of our inspection and 35 who completed comment cards. All 39 patients were positive about the care they received from the practice. They were complimentary about the friendly, professional and caring attitude of the dental staff and the dental treatment they had received. We saw that 23 patients had provided feedback to NHS choices giving a four staff rating and positive feedback, which the practice responded too.

Our key findings were:

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned in line with current guidance such as from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
• There were effective systems in place to reduce and minimise the risk and spread of infection.
• There was a lead staff member for safeguarding patients. All staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.
• Equipment, such as the air compressor, autoclave (steriliser), fire extinguishers, and X-ray equipment had all been checked for effectiveness and had been regularly serviced.
• Patients indicated that they felt they were listened to and that they received good care from the practice team.
• The practice had implemented clear procedures for managing comments, concerns or complaints.
• Patients could access treatment and urgent and emergency care when required.
• Patients could book appointments up to 12 months in advance.
• The practice manager had a clear vision for the practice and staff told us they were well supported by the management team.
• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.
• The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
• Staff reported incidents and kept records of these which the practice used for shared learning.
• The service was aware of the needs of the local population and took these into account in how the practice was run.
• Staff received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development by the management team.
• Staff we spoke to felt supported by the management team and were committed to providing a quality service to their patients.