During our visit on 23 February 2012, we spoke with two of the dentists at the practice, a dental nurse and receptionist staff. Mrs Carole Preston is the principal dentist for Glebe Practice Services Limited which operates as Shipston Dental Practice.

We spoke by telephone to five people who receive treatment at Shipston Dental Practice. We also received seven emails from people who shared their experience of their dental care at the practice. People were satisfied with the care and treatment they had received. Comments received included;

“I am happy to report that my family have been very impressed with the advice given and treatment received.”

“I simply cannot fault the practice – in all ways the level of service is excellent from helpful receptionists and dental nurses to the very sensitive, professional and informative care of Mrs Preston. I would like to say how impressed I am in particular with the skill and sensitivity shown by Mrs Preston in her dealings with my children.”

Several people made a point of commenting that the team was polite and friendly and one person said they appreciated that the staff knew them by name. One person told us that,”the reception staff are wonderful.” They added that they have noticed other people being dealt with politely too. Several people said they thought it was a professional practice and had recommended it to their relatives and friends. One person told us, “Our family joined the practice on the advice of friends and similarly, we are always happy to pass on our own endorsements to others.”

We asked people if they had ever had to make a complaint. People we spoke with said they would speak to the dentist if they were unhappy with anything, but had never had cause to do this.

People we spoke with said everything always looked clean and they were satisfied with the standards of cleanliness. They told us they saw staff washing their hands and using disposable gloves. People were always provided with glasses to protect their eyes and aprons where any treatment was completed.

We saw that the arrangements for control of infection and the decontamination of instruments were in place. Staff said they felt confident with the procedures and that there was additional guidance to follow if needed. Staff were able to show us the decontamination process and describe how the equipment was monitored to ensure it was working efficiently.