Archived: Smile Impressions Grays

Updated 23 April 2015

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 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by the CQC.

• This inspection was carried out on 26 January 2015 by a lead inspector from the Care Quality Commission.

• Prior to the inspection we reviewed information that we held about the provider and received from other organisations. We also viewed information that we asked the provider to send us in advance of the inspection. This included their statement of purpose, a record of their complaints and how they dealt with them.

• During the inspection we spoke with two dentists, two dental nurses, the registered manager and the operations manager. We also observed staff interaction with patients. We looked around the premises and the dental surgeries. We spoke with several patients to obtain their views about the staff and the services provided. We reviewed a range of policies and procedures and other documents.

• We viewed the comments made by patients on comment cards that we left for them to complete prior to the inspection and read a compliments book that was available for patients in the reception area.

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?

Updated 23 April 2015

The inspection took place on 26 January 2015 as part of our national programme of comprehensive inspections.

The practice provides primary dental care for NHS and private patients. The practice team includes three dentists supported by two full-time and one trainee dental nurse. There is an operations manager who also works on reception.

Prior to our inspection we left some CQC comment cards for patients to complete about their experience of the practice. We reviewed the 26 that had been completed and found that patients had made positive comments about the practice. The majority of the comments made by patients reflected that they found the services provided to be excellent or very good.

The practice also maintained a compliments book at reception. This contained many positive comments from satisfied patients.

The patient survey carried out in September 2014, completed by 16 patients, reflected that 100% of the patients surveyed were satisfied with the services offered at the practice and the care and treatment provided by the staff working there.

The premises, equipment and infection control procedures followed published guidance. Staff were kind and caring and treated patients with dignity and respect.

We found that staff training met the needs of patients and they treated them with dignity and respect. The practice was had a clear management structure and staff were aware of their responsibilities. The practice sought feedback from both patients and staff to identify areas for improvement.