Ambience Dental Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 22 March 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

Ambience Dental Practice is situated in Swindon city centre in a converted commercial property. It provides NHS dental care. The practice has eight dentists, four qualified dental nurses and eight trainee dental nurses. The dental nurses also carry out reception duties and are supported in this by a head receptionist. The practice management team include one practice retail sales manager, one head receptionist and one director of training and practice management who is also a qualified dental nurse and approved dental nurse trainer. In addition to this the practice are supported by a HR manager, an IT department and finance team. The practice is one of seven practices that belong to the corporate provider Smileright Ltd.

The practice has eight dental treatment rooms and two decontamination rooms for the cleaning, sterilising and packing of dental instruments. The reception area, a waiting room, a decontamination room, five treatment rooms and a disabled patient toilet are on the ground floor. There is a second waiting room, decontamination room, three treatment rooms, conference room and further patient toilet on the first floor. The practice benefits from a third floor which has a training room, toilet and office suite.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission comment cards to the practice for patients to use to tell us about their experience of the practice. We collected 45 completed cards and spoke with 12 patients on the day of our inspection. Without exception patients were positive about the quality of the service provided by the practice. They gave examples of the positive experiences they had at the practice and told us the practice team were professional, caring and helpful. We also saw the practice’s patient survey forms and analysis. These all provided a consistently positive view of the service the practice provides.

Our key findings were:

• Patients who completed CQC comment cards and those who had filled in the practices own surveys were all positive about the practice team and the care and treatment provided.

• The practice had an established process for reporting and recording significant events and accidents to ensure they investigated these and took remedial action.
• The practice was visibly clean and a number of patients commented on their satisfaction with hygiene and cleanliness.
• The practice had well organised systems to assess and manage infection prevention and control.
• The practice had suitable safeguarding processes and staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
• The practice had recruitment policies and procedures to help them ensure the suitability of staff they employed.
• Dental care records provided clear and detailed information about patients’ care and treatment.
• Staff received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development. The director of training and practice management was an approved dental nurse trainer.

• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed.
• The practice had systems including audits to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services provided.