Balsall Common Dental Practice

Updated 4 September 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 CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service.

We carried out this inspection on 14 January 2015. During the inspection we looked at the premises, spoke with the principal dentist about their methods of working and reviewed documents. We also spoke individually with the practice manager, the clinical manager, the business manager and a dental nurse.

Before our inspection we provided comment cards and asked patients to share their views and experiences of the service. We reviewed 44 completed comment cards and we also spoke with two of these patients by telephone after our inspection.

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 4 September 2015

Balsall Common Dental Practice is a private practice that provides services to people of all ages. The services provided include prevention based, family dental care as well as a full range of procedures including whitening, veneers, crowns, white fillings, orthodontics, implants, bridges, dentures, root fillings, periodontal gum treatment and dental hygienist services.

Before our inspection we provided comment cards and asked patients to share their views and experiences of the service. We reviewed 44 completed comment cards and we also spoke with two of these patients by telephone after our inspection. The feedback received in comment cards was very complimentary of the practice and the care provided by staff. Patient comments included that the service and staff were caring and professional, the environment was clean, they could access the service in an emergency and they felt fully informed about their care and treatment.

Overall we found that the practice had arrangements to ensure patients received appropriate care in a safe and well led environment. Staff working at the practice had the appropriate skills and knowledge to support patients. We observed staff treating patients with care and understanding.

There were policies and procedures at the practice for staff recruitment and for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. The practice had the equipment and medicines they would need in the event of a medical emergency. Staff had received training and demonstrated to us they knew how to respond. The practice had appropriate arrangements in place to ensure patients received care and treatment that met their needs. Staff working at the practice had the appropriate skills and knowledge for their roles.

However, there were some areas for improvement. In particular, the provider should:

• Develop an incident reporting policy and document all incidents to implement learning