During our inspection on 24 May 2013 we found that effective recruitment and selection processes had not been followed by the provider. No written references from previous employers had been sought for any of the staff employed by the service. During this inspection we found the provider had in place two written references for each member of staff and therefore effective recruitment and selection processes were being followed.

During our inspection on 07 November 2012 we found the provider didn't have an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive. The provider wrote to us and told us that they would address the concerns. During this inspection we found improvements had been made.

We spoke with one person who used the service and two staff. The person we spoke with said "I am happy with the dental service provided, I don't have any complaints".

Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. A full medical history was taken before any treatment was carried out and updated at each appointment. Procedures were in place to care for people in the event of an emergency and staff had received adequate training to meet people's needs.

We viewed five personnel files and found some recruitment checks were in place, however there was no evidence that written references had been requested for staff before they commenced employment with the service. This meant that the provider could not demonstrate that appropriate recruitment checks were carried out to ensure that only suitable applicants were selected to work with people using the service.

During the inspection we spoke with two members of staff and the manager. We also spoke with three people who use the service by telephone to get their views about the quality of the service they received.

People said they were very happy with the care and treatment they received from the practice. One person said “I have been visiting the dentist for many years and I am very happy with the treatment I receive”. Another person said “they go the extra mile with the care and treatment we receive”. All people who spoke with us said the dentists explained the treatment options to them and the costs so they had all the necessary information to make an informed decision about the treatment they wanted. They told us they had always been treated with respect and dignity. They said they did not have to wait a long time for appointments and that they were mostly seen on time.

We found that the provider had some quality initiatives in place but these had not been used consistently to monitor the quality of services. A comprehensive quality assurance system was not in place and the provider did not yet have robust processes in place to monitor the quality of services to make sure that people always received safe and appropriate care and treatment.