Archived: Watchtower Dental

We inspected again on 6 June 2013. We saw that the provider's safeguarding policy was centrally located for easy access by staff. We also saw that the provider had requested that staff sign the policy to confirm their understanding of its contents. Operational and managerial staff we spoke with demonstrated an understanding of safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. Staff could also describe how they would report a safeguarding concern. These measures helped protect people from abuse or the risk of abuse.

We selected two patient records at random. The provider was able to talk us through the records and demonstrate how patient progress was continually assessed and documented. One of the records clearly highlighted that the patient had a penicillin allergy. This meant that the provider had systems in place to help protect people against the risks of receiving inappropriate or unsafe care.

Not all staff had received safeguarding training and the provider was unable to provide contact details for the local authority safeguarding team. This meant that staff might be unaware of safeguarding issues and/or how to raise safeguarding concerns.

There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. We saw that the waiting area, treatment room and decontamination area were clean and clutter free. One person observed that the practice had 'high standards of hygiene' whilst another referred to cleanliness levels as being of an 'excellent standard'.

None of the people we spoke with expressed concerns about the accuracy or confidentiality of patient records. One person referred to the practice as, 'thoroughly professional'.