We carried out this inspection to follow up on actions required following the inspection of the practice in May 2014. These related to the recruitment of staff and the monitoring of the quality of service provided at the practice.

During this inspection we found the provider had taken appropriate actions to address the shortfalls we identified at our previous inspection.

We saw the practice had a robust recruitment policy. This policy included actions to be taken should an employee need to start working at the practice prior to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check being completed.

We saw the provider had undertaken a variety of audits to assess the quality of service provision since our last inspection. They showed us a clear plan for assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision as a rolling programme.

We did not speak with patients as part of this inspection. However the provider showed us the initial results of an on-going patient satisfaction survey. Comments seen included "although a nervous patient I think the staff at North Way are wonderful"; and "I am very pleased with the treatment received and would recommend the dentist".

On the day of our visit we spoke with four patients who were complimentary about the practice. All felt they were treated with respect and dignity. They told us they felt safe in the practice and were confident in the staffs knowledge and skills. We observed verbal consent to treatment was obtained prior to treatment demonstrating the practice acted in accordance with patient’s wishes. All four patients told us they were informed about the treatment alternatives and possible outcomes of the treatment.

One patient told us "this is an excellent practice, I've been coming for years and so have all the family". Two patients told us they had no concerns and found the practice to be welcoming, caring and relaxed.

We saw there had been no patient satisfaction survey in the last 12 months. However we did see the practice had undertaken an NHS quality audit in March 2014 and 94% of patients said they were satisfied with the treatment they received. Patients told us they could make an appointment at times which suited them. They told us they were aware of the emergency number and had always been able to get an appointment within 24 hours.

The practice had access for patients with disabilities including wheelchair users at the front of the building. Once in the practice there were facilities on the ground floor to provide all the services offered by the practice.

We saw the practice had not followed their recruitment policy for new staff. This was because they had not applied for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, to ensure the new member of staff was safe to work with vulnerable patients. The provider had used a check from the recruit’s previous employment. The provider told us they would now be applying for this check.

We spoke with six members of staff who told us the practice was friendly, safe and responsive to patient's needs. They told us they felt the practice was well led by the provider.

We saw the practice did not have effective systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. This demonstrated it was not being wholly well led. However staff told us the provider was approachable and ran a good practice.

Patients were complimentary about the staff at the practice saying they put people at ease and were very friendly. Where patients had a course of treatment they told us each visit would be described in the treatment letter along with costs so that they knew what to expect at each visit. They felt that staff would listen if they had a complaint.

We found that patient records were well kept.

Staff were aware of the procedures to follow if they had concerns about the safty of a child but had not recieved formal training in this area.

We had concerns that the provider was not compliant with infection control.