There is an effective system to check that emergency drugs are kept safe for people to use and there is an effective auditing system to monitor the servicing of equipment.
New policies and procedures are in place in relation to cleanliness and infection control. This means that the risk of cross infection to people using the service is reduced.
Following our visit we spoke with five people over the telephone so that we could get their views of the service provided. All the people we spoke with were positive about their experiences. People told us that they were given enough information about their treatment options and were always asked about their medical history. One person told us, 'The dentist gives you all the options'. Another person we spoke to said, 'The first question is always about my medical history'.
We found that people received the planned care and treatment they needed and records detailed the treatment people had received. However, we found that some equipment was not being maintained as regularly as needed and some medication for urgent use was out of date.
There was an infection prevention policy in place to minimise the risk of infection. However, procedures in the policy were not always followed to ensure the provider was compliant with nationally set guidelines.
Staff had received appropriate training and development to enable them to deliver treatment to people safely and to an appropriate standard.
There were systems to monitor the quality of service and to improve the service by learning from incidents, errors and near misses.
'My mother travels 200 miles to use this dentist, they are so good with her.'
'My treatment is not yet completed, the dentist is very thorough and I have had three visits so that she can get the treatment right.'
This dental practice is based in premises which are shared by other dental providers. Each dentist practice is registered in their own right but resources such as staff, facilities, surgery rooms and equipment are all shared.
The facilities and resources offered at this practice include four surgery rooms, a practice manager, two associate dentists, two dental hygienists, four dental nurses and two receptionists. The reception entrance and at least one surgery room are on the ground floor which makes the practice accessible to people with mobility restrictions.
During our visit we looked around the premises. We spoke to two dentists, the registered manager, a hygienist, two dental nurses and looked at records for three people who had visited the surgery recently.
Evidence that we gathered during this review confirmed that people are thoroughly assessed to decide what dental and oral healthcare needs they may have. Treatments that people may need are discussed with them and are carried out in a satisfactory way.
We found that improvement is needed regarding infection control and cleaning procedures to prevent the risk of people contracting infections.