Hampshire Dentists in Southampton

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 30 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.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 30 March 2016 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Hampshire Dentists in Southampton provides family dental care to both adults and children on a private contract basis.

The practice is situated in a business premises on the first floor. The practice had three dental treatment rooms and a separate decontamination room for cleaning, sterilising and packing dental instruments. The practice is part of the provider brand Hampshire Dentists Ltd.

The Principal Dentist is registered with the Care Quality Commission as the registered manager. They were legally responsible for making sure the practice meets the regulations from the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 relating to the quality and safety of care.

The practice had three dentists who work throughout the normal working week, a dental therapist, a lead dental nurse, three dental nurses, a clinical dental technician, a part-time dental hygienist supported by a practice manager and two receptionists. The practice displayed its opening hours in their premises, in the practice information leaflet and on the practice website. Opening hours were Monday to Wednesday from 8am until 5pm. Thursday 8am until 7pm and on Friday from 9am until 4pm, excluding bank holidays.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We collected thirty five completed cards and spoke with one patient. These provided a positive view of the service the practice provides.

Our key findings were:

• Staff had been trained to handle emergencies and appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment was readily available in accordance with current guidelines.

• The practice was visibly clean.

• All equipment used in the practice was maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

• Infection control procedures were robust and the practice followed the guidance in the Healthcare Technical Memorandum HTM 01-05.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with current professional guidelines

• The practice had effective safeguarding processes in place and staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children living in vulnerable circumstances.

• Staff reported incidents and kept records of these which the practice used for shared learning.

• The practice had enough staff to deliver the service.

• The practice placed an emphasis on the promotion of good oral health and provided regular oral health instruction to patients.

• Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and were supported in their continued professional development (CPD).