During our 15 October 2013 inspection, we were concerned that the provider did not sufficiently protect people against the spread of health care associated infections. Our concerns focussed upon staff not following the provider’s hand washing policy and on the provider’s process for decontaminating (i.e. cleaning and sterilising) dental instruments. When we inspected on 4 December 2013, the provider had taken action to address the issues we had raised. There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection.

A patient we spoke with told us they were happy with the service, saying “everything’s fine.” Arrangements were in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies. These included routinely taking people’s medical histories and having emergency medicines and equipment in place. Checklists showed these were in date and checked regularly.

We saw that the practice was clean and policies and procedures were in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. The decontamination of instruments took place in a separate room, regarded as best practice by the Department of Health. However, we observed that the process of decontamination did not fully comply with expected standards. The dentist told us that they were in the course of developing and refurbishing the practice.

Systems were in place to protect people from the risks of inappropriate or unsafe care and treatment and to assess and monitor the quality of services provided. Risk assessments had been carried out and the dentist had introduced written treatment plans and consent forms and updated to digital X-rays. Accurate records were maintained about people’s treatment and about staffing and management. A back up system had been put in place for computerised patient records.