On the day of inspection the registered manager was not available and we met with the practice manager. They told us that the practice had been through a significant period of staff changes in the last six months. We found that before people received any care or treatment they were asked for their consent and the provider acted in accordance with their wishes. People's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. People we spoke with told us that they were happy with the care and treatment received.
We saw the practice had systems in place to minimise the risk of infection. Staff we spoke with understood the process of decontamination. However, we found the practice checking processes were not consistent with the records seen.
The provider did not have an effective system for assessing and monitoring the quality of service. We saw evidence of routine audits but records of risk assessments and other audits were incomplete.
On the day of inspection we also looked at the complaints process of the practice. We found that the process was basic and did not include timescales for responding to patients or details of where complaints could be escalated to. Two of the complaints we reviewed were not processed in line with the provider's complaints policy. People we spoke with knew they could complain to the Dentist or Practice Manager.