During our inspection in June 2013 we found that the provider had not met the regulations that related to care and welfare of patients, emergency equipment, infection control, staffing and information on complaints.

We found that the provider had appropriate emergency equipment that could be used in an emergency. We also found that the medical history of patients was being recorded by staff.

We observed that the provider had introduced appropriate infection control procedures.

We saw that information that related to staff was up to date and that patients could access information on how to make a complaint.

As part of our inspection we spoke with nine patients and one member of staff.

All of the patients that we spoke with told us that they were happy with the service provided. They said that treatment was always explained to them, they were given time to ask questions and the staff would always listen to them. One patient told us “It’s very pleasant, you develop a rapport.” Another patient said “It’s a first class service.” However we found that not all of the patients had been asked to complete a medical history and that the practice did not have equipment in place to deal with medical emergencies.

We found that the practice and the surgeries were clean. One patient told us that they had always found the practice “Spotless.” However on the day of our inspection, we had concerns that the provider did not have necessary processes in place to reduce the risk of infection.

We discovered during our inspection that the provider had not complied with requirements that related to recruitment of staff by ensuring that appropriate checks were carried out and they only employed people who were suitable to work at the dental practice.

Although all of the patients that we spoke with, during our inspection, told us that they had never felt the need to complain we found that the practice did not hold or display a formal complaints procedure.