The Care Quality Commission

Archived: Grange Street Dental Practice

4 Grange Street, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 5NB

Provided and run by:
Mr. Vimalchandra Rawal

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

All Inspections

10 December 2012

During an inspection looking at part of the service

People told us that they were happy with the service provided and that their dignity was maintained and their privacy protected. They were encouraged to ask questions and felt staff had the time to answer their questions. People reported that staff were good at discussing all their treatment options with them. One person told us, 'I first came here as an emergency, I looked at the prices on the website before I came. The dentist talked to me about different options available before I made my decision' they also told us, 'staff here are excellent, they're always friendly and happy'. Another person told us, 'I've been coming here for 20 years. Staff explain things well and I feel very comfortable here'.

We undertook this visit because we were following up concerns we had identified in relation to infection control practices as part of a previous inspection. We found that the provider had listened to our concerns and acted on them.

9 November 2012

During a routine inspection

People told us they were happy with the service provided and that their dignity was maintained and their privacy protected. They were encouraged to ask questions and felt that staff had the time to answer them. People reported that staff were good at discussing all their treatment options with them. One person told us, 'The practice staff are all really good; excellent. The dentist always lets me know what treatment options there are and the cost before any work is done." Another person told us, 'I'm really pleased with the service; the dentist explained all the costs and was very helpful'.

Although patients were satisfied with the service they received we identified significant concerns around the cleanliness and hygiene of the practice. This meant that our review focused on this aspect of the service provision.

We found that surfaces within the dental surgeries were dirty and that not all equipment was packaged following sterilisation. Items and products used in the cleaning process were not all clean and or sterile.

Decontamination guidance developed by the Department of Health was not consistently followed. Patients were at risk because people were not being cared for in a clean and hygienic environment.

The provider was receptive to our findings and started to implement new cleaning processes, they replaced items which were not clean and cleaned the surface areas and sterilising equipment.