Holbrook Dental and Implant Centre is a general dental practice in Horsham offering both NHS and private treatment. The practice treats adults and children.

The premises consist of a waiting area adjacent to the reception desk and four treatment rooms. There is also a separate decontamination room

The staff at the practice consist of the practice owner (principal dentist), four other dentists, a practice manager (who is also a qualified dental nurse), a receptionist and four dental nurses. The practice employs the services of a part time specialist prosthodontist (who carries out dental implant treatment and other prosthodontic procedures) as well as a part time dental hygienist who carries out preventative advice and treatment.

Our key findings were:

We found that this practice was providing safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

• There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. We found all treatment rooms and equipment appeared very clean.

• There were systems in place to check all equipment had been serviced regularly, including the suction compressor, autoclave, fire extinguishers, oxygen cylinder and the X-ray equipment.

• We found the dentists regularly assessed each patient’s gum health and took X-rays at appropriate intervals.

• The practice ensured staff maintained the necessary skills and competence to support the needs of patients.

• The practice kept up to date with current guidelines and was led by a proactive and forward thinking management team.

• At our visit we observed staff were kind, caring, competent and put patients at their ease.

• We reviewed 39 comment cards that had been completed by patients. Common themes were patients felt they were listened to and received very good care in a clean environment from a helpful and patient practice team.

We spoke with three people during our visit and three by telephone afterwards. They told us that they were happy with the service they received. One said, “It’s excellent, we’re very pleased”. Another told us, “I can’t praise them highly enough”. One person whose family was registered with the practice told us, “They’re very good with youngsters, my children have no fear of going to the dentist”.

We spoke with four dental nurses, one dentist, the manager and the provider. They told us that it was a busy practice and that sometimes they felt under a lot of pressure. One said, “It is busy but the team works well together”. Another told us, “I really enjoy it”.

We found that the practice was welcoming. People were offered choices about the treatment that they received and were cared for in a safe and clean environment. We observed staff interacting with people in a kind and cheerful manner. Everyone that we spoke with told us that they could approach the practice if they were unhappy or had ideas to discuss.