SpaDental Tewkesbury

Updated 24 September 2015

We carried out an announced, comprehensive inspection on 3 August 2015. The inspection took place over one day. The inspection was led by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector. They were accompanied by a dental specialist advisor.

We reviewed the areas of non-compliance found at the last inspection and the information received from the provider prior to the inspection. The practice sent us their statement of purpose, staffing levels and a summary of complaints they had received in the last 12 months. We also informed the local Healthwatch we were inspecting the practice; however we did not receive any information from them.

During our inspection visit, we reviewed policy documents and dental care records. We spoke with 11 members of staff, including three of the dentists. We conducted a tour of the practice and looked at the storage arrangements for emergency medicines and equipment. We observed dental nurses carrying out decontamination procedures of dental instruments and also observed staff interacting with patients in the waiting area.

22 people had completed CQC comment cards and provided feedback about the service. Patients we spoke with, and those who completed comment cards, were positive about the care they received from the practice. They were complimentary about the friendly and caring attitude of the dental staff.

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 24 September 2015

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 3 August 2015 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 this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations

Are services caring?

We found this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

CQC inspected the practice on 16 February 2015 and asked the provider to make improvements regarding legal requirements relating to cleanliness; infection control; recruitment processes and monitoring the quality of the service provided. We checked these areas as part of this comprehensive inspection and found they had been resolved.

The practice offers private comprehensive, preventative care and treatment for its patient population. High Street Dental Practice has three dentists and one visiting dentist, from another of the company’s practices, who offers the dental implant service. There is a practice manager, three dental hygienists, four dental nurses and two receptionists. At the time of our inspection there were three dentists supported by dental nurses on duty to meet the demands of the patient population. The practice manager was also in attendance.

The registered manager is one of the dental partners at the practice. 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 practice is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: 8.30am – 5.00pm, Thursday: 9.00am – 7.00pm. As it is a wholly private practice it offers the company dental care plan – ‘Torplan Care Plan’ as a form of dental insurance and to assist with spreading payment for dental treatments. The service is closed at weekends but offers an Out of Hours service for those patients who have signed up to the Torplan - Care Plan.

We spoke with eight patients who used the service on the day of our inspection and reviewed 22 Care Quality Commission (CQC) comment cards that had been completed by patients prior to the inspection. The patients we spoke with were very complimentary about the service. They told us they found the practice and staff provided excellent and highly professional care; were extremely friendly and welcoming and all patients felt they were treated with dignity and respect.

We found the practice was effective in treatments provided, caring and responsive to patients needs and well led by the practice manager. We found the provider and manager had taken action to address the areas of non-compliance found at the last inspection.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had systems and processes in place which ensured patients were protected from abuse and avoidable harm.
• Patients’ care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes, promoted a good quality of life and was based on the best available evidence.
• Staff involved, and treated, patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Services were organised so they meet patients’ needs.
• The leadership, management and governance of the organisation assured the delivery of high-quality; patient centred treatment and care, supported learning and innovation, and promoted an open and fair culture.

• Patients reported good access to the practice with emergency appointments available the same day.