The provider had acted swiftly to make changes to practice procedures for the decontamination of instruments. This meant that a dedicated hand wash sink was now available for staff in one of the surgeries. They had carried out improvements to the surgery to ensure cleaning was easier and more effective.
Everybody we spoke with was very complimentary about the care they received. One person commented: "I am a nervous patient and I have found all the staff very re-assuring." We also looked at patient records which enabled us to see the information recorded for each person's visit. The dentist had recorded their examination of soft tissues, teeth and other relevant observations.
During our visit we spoke to clinical staff at the practice. They were aware of the safe practices required to meet the essential standards of department of health guidance. However we had concerns about the lack of facilities for staff to carry out effective hand washing in one of the surgeries.
People we spoke with told us that they understood the treatment they were consenting to and that they were aware of any costs involved. Staff understood that people could withdraw their consent to treatment at any time.
The service held regular staff meetings which, staff told us, allowed everybody working at the practice to make suggestions to improve the service to patients.