When we visited this practice, we spoke with three patients, two dental nurses, a dentist a receptionist and managers.

The three patients we spoke with told us when they visited the practice it was always clean. They said the staff working at the practice were “good,” skilled and they felt reassured by them.

Patients benefitted from recruitment procedures which ensured staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults and children. The practice was able to provide consistency because there was a stable staff team and staff were qualified for their roles.

Patients were involved in making decisions about their treatment plans. The patients we spoke with told us the dentist discussed their treatment options with them and they were given sufficient time to reach a decision about whether to have treatment. The staff we spoke with gave us examples of how they ensured patients understood their treatment options. These staff told us some patients were more able to understand the details of their treatment when they used simple language and their X-Rays to explain the treatment options.

Patients received coordinated care when their treatment was shared with other healthcare professionals. Patients who required sedation for dentistry were referred to specialist dentists. Where there were concerns about patients’ overall health, they were referred to other healthcare professionals. Where other healthcare professionals were involved in patients’ care, staff were kept informed of the patients’ diagnosis and treatment.

People were positive in their comments about the practice. One person who lived out of county told us they had been recommended to the practice. They said they had found the staff to be “helpful, polite and lovely”.

People described how they had been well informed of the options available to them.

We received complimentary comments about the reception staff. One person told us “over the years the practice has become bigger and the receptionists have become very efficient”.

We observed there was lots of information available to people within the reception and waiting areas, as well as in the treatment rooms.

We saw there was a safeguarding policy in place at the practice. We noted there was a flow chart and a copy of the procedures for alerting any concerns to the local authority.

There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection.

Staff we spoke with were clear about their roles and responsibilities.

We saw there were effective systems in place for auditing the quality and safety of the service. Concerns and complaints were responded to appropriately.