We visited the service on 19 December 2011. We spoke with three people on the telephone and one person in the surgery on the day of the visit. We also spoke with the practice manager, the owner, and the nurse and dentist on duty.

People we spoke with said they were very happy with the service they received. They told us the staff were helpful and friendly. One person said “I get a good service, efficient and friendly.”

We asked about being able to get an appointment and if they had to wait over their

appointment time to be seen. One person told us “I generally see the dentist on time and any delays are explained.”

We asked about receiving treatment as an emergency. The manager told us that they did not hold appointments for emergencies but allowed people to come in whenever they needed. One person spoken with said that her daughter had received emergency treatment late at night and was very happy with the service given.

People we spoke with said everything always looked clean. One person said, “I always find it very clean” and “It’s absolutely spotless.”

We saw that there were systems in place to ensure good standards in maintaining infection control. We saw that there was a sufficient supply of gloves, aprons, hand

wash, gels and other items required to ensure good standards of care were maintained.

We saw staff records that confirmed they had attended training in the decontamination of equipment and infection control. The member of staff on duty was able to show us the decontamination process and describe how the equipment was monitored to ensure it was working efficiently.

We found that whilst the practice responded to any formal complaints recieved and the owner told us that any concerns were always raised with the dentist, that there was nothing to demonstrate that this was the case. We also saw that issues raised as concerns from patient satisfaction surveys, were not always followed up and there was nothing available to show what actions had been taken as a result.