12 February 2014
During a routine inspection
Patients told us staff treated them with respect. During our inspection we saw staff were polite and welcoming to patients attending the practice. One patient we spoke with said, 'They always know who you are, which is really nice'.
Patients told us they were happy with the care and treatment they received. One patient said they were 'extremely satisfied with the dentist and the hygienists'. Another patient told us they were 'very happy going there, they're really good'. The practice was, therefore, meeting patients' needs.
The practice was clean and hygienic. There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. Instruments were sterilised in a purpose built room that complied with the Department of Health's essential quality requirements. Staff confirmed they had received training in infection control and demonstrated a sound understanding of infection control principles.
The practice had a contract with a dental insurance provider which conducted regular surveys to seek the views of patients using the service. The most recent survey showed patients expressed a high level of satisfaction. The dentist conducted audits to examine certain aspects of the service. These included infection control, records, antibiotic dispensing and radiographs. They provided examples of how they used the findings from the audits to improve standards. Auditing processes were, therefore, effective.