7 August 2012
During a routine inspection
Two of the people we met said they had been pleased to get an appointment promptly because they needed urgent treatment. For one person, it was their first visit. They said they had been asked for their medical history, so that the dentist would know of any particular treatment requirements. One person said they had recently started using this practice, moving from another. 'Best thing I ever did, move here,' they said.
Two people said they sometimes found it difficult to understand what the dentist was telling them, if they were from another country. One of the dentists told us they spoke more slowly if they thought the patient might have difficulty in understanding, would ask if they understood, and would ask the nurse to help ensure they understood.
We looked at a sample of patient records and saw that discussions of treatment options had been recorded. This showed that people were offered choice.
The practice regularly gathered feedback forms from people using the service. People had asked for redecoration. We saw that the previous colours were being replaced by a more neutral colour. The practice was clean and tidy throughout.
We looked at the procedures in place for ensuring that instruments were clean and safe to use, and found that there were effective systems in place to maintain cleanliness.