Following our last inspection to the service on 13 January 2014 we identified essential standards of quality and safety were not being met in respect of Regulations 9 and 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010.

We asked the provider to take appropriate action to achieve compliance with these regulations. They sent us a report on 30 January 2014 detailing how they would do this.

At this visit we found the provider had made the improvements required to achieve compliance. We found medicines and equipment used in emergencies were in date and regularly checked by staff.

We also saw people’s records were kept safely and appropriately.

We spoke with five people using the service on the day of our inspection. All of the people we spoke with were positive about their experiences of using the service. Typical comments we received were; “It’s very good. Best dentist I’ve ever had.”; “It’s absolutely marvellous here.” and “I’ve been coming here for twenty six years. It’s a really good practice.”

People told us their treatment options were explained to them by staff. One person said, “They explain everything that will happen and let you decide about what you want.” Another told us, “They are just so friendly and nice and always explain everything to you.”

We looked at the records of people using the service. We saw clinical staff explained treatment options and documented people’s preferences and choices. People were provided with treatment plans which set out their treatment needs and costs. From records kept by staff we noted people received the treatment that was planned.

The practice had procedures in place for staff to report any concerns they had about the welfare and wellbeing of people and children using the service.

All of the people we spoke with told us the practice was kept clean and tidy. There were appropriate policies and procedures in place to prevent and control the risks of cross infection.

Peoples views and experiences had been used to make changes and improvements that people wanted. Practice staff undertook audits to monitor and review the quality and safety of the care and treatment provided to people using the service.

However we found medicines used in emergencies were out of date. We also found no evidence equipment used in emergencies had been checked regularly. This put people at risk of unsafe or inappropriate care in an emergency. We also found paper records were not kept securely. People’s personal information was easily accessible in one part of the practice which not only put people at risk but also breached data protection and confidentiality rules.