Aquae Sulis is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which makes sure health and social care services in England provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high quality care and encourages care services to improve.
We were inspected by the CQC on 2 September 2014 and passed all five of its criteria which are:
1) Treating people with respect and involving them in their care
2) Providing care, treatment and support that meets people’s needS
3) Caring for people safely and protecting them from harm
4) Staffing
5) Quality and suitability of management
Here is an extract of the report the CQC filed after the inspection
We spoke with three patients, the dentist (provider) and four staff.
Patients we spoke with said they were highly satisfied with the their treatment. One patient told us “it’s very good [the practice], relaxed, friendly and the treatment is painless.”
Another patient said “they’re so thorough. I have confidence in the dentist. They’ve [the dentist] sorted out my dental issues.”
Patients said they were involved in their treatment decisions and the dentist was ‘thorough’ in their explanations.
Staff understood their legal responsibilities and obligations for enabling patient consent.
We observed the practice was visibly clean, well lit and modern. Patients said they were satisfied with the cleanliness of the practice. The provider had procedures to promote cleanliness and reduce infection.
Staff said they were well supported and enjoyed working at the practice. We saw from training records all staff attended essential training such as basic life support and managing emergencies.
An important aspect of clinical regulation by the CQC is cross-infection control in dental practices — at Aquae Sulis we use only rigorously sterilised or single-use instruments, apply disposable covers to all surfaces and use new gloves for each patient.
We also follow guidelines from the General Dental Council, which regulates dentists and dental care professionals in the United Kingdom, and the British Dental Association, which is the professional association and trade union for dentists in the United Kingdom.
