Archived: Mydentist - Albion Road - Earby Also known as mydentist

Updated 26 September 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 the 6 September 2016 and was led by a CQC inspector accompanied by a specialist dental advisor.

The practice sent us their statement of purpose, and details of staff working at the practice. During our inspection visit, we reviewed policy documents and staff records. We spoke with five members of staff, including the registered manager. We toured the practice and reviewed emergency medicines and equipment.

To assess the quality of care provided we looked at practice policies and protocols and other records relating to the management of the service.

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 26 September 2016

The practice provides NHS and a small amount of private treatment to adults and children patients in the Earby area and beyond.

The dental practice has three treatment rooms one on the ground and two on the first floor. There is a waiting/ reception area, decontamination room, and kitchen and staff room /office area. Off street parking is available adjacent to the practice.

The practice has three dentists, a dental hygienist, dental therapist, three dental nurses, receptionist and practice manager.

The practice is open Monday - Tuesday 9am to 6pm, Wednesday – Thursday 9am – 5:30pm and Friday 9am to 5pm.

The practice manager is 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.

Before the inspection we sent CQC comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We received feedback from 12 patients which all gave positive comments about the care and treatment received at the practice. The patients who provided feedback described the service overall as 'excellent'. They told us they found the staff helpful and caring and they could access appointments easily.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was visibly clean and a number of patients mentioned that the practice was always clean and hygienic.
• The practice had good systems to assess and manage risks to patients, including infection prevention and control and health and safety.
• The practice had robust safeguarding processes and staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding patients.
• Staff were qualified and had received training appropriate to their roles.
• Patients received a responsive service and staff treated them in a thoughtful, respectful and professional way.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed.Patients received clear explanations about their proposed treatment, costs, benefits and risks and were involved in making decisions about it.
• We observed that patients were treated with kindness and respect by staff. Staff ensured there was sufficient time to explain fully the care and treatment they were providing in a way patients understood.
• The practice had a complaints system in place and there was an openness and transparency in how these were dealt with.
• There were clearly defined leadership roles within the practice and staff told us that they felt supported, appreciated and comfortable to raise concerns or make suggestions.