Archived: Lansdowne Centre

The dental team consisted of three dentists, two hygienists, three dental nurses, one decontamination staff and one practice manager. All the staff were registered with the General Dental Council.

During this inspection we spoke with the practice manager and a dental nurse. We looked at staff records and the practice's recruitment policy. We found that action had been taken to ensure that all staff had the appropriate safety checks to ensure their suitability to work at the practice.

We found that appropriate arrangements were in place to safeguard people from potential abuse.

We looked at three dental records that showed people were informed of their treatment options and that consent for treatment was obtained before treatment commenced.

Dental records provided information about the person's medical history, the treatment they had received and the frequency of follow up visits. One person who used the service said, 'Because of my oral health I see the hygienist more frequently.'

We found that arrangements in place to ensure people are safeguarded against the risk of abuse were not entirely robust.

We found that the decontamination process for dental instruments was satisfactory. We observed that treatment rooms were clean and tidy. One person who had recently used the service said, 'The practice always appears clean and tidy and my dentist always wears gloves.'

Staff recruitment practices were not robust to ensure the suitability of the dental team.

We spoke with two dental nurses who confirmed they had access to regular training to ensure they had the skills and competence to deliver an effective service.

We found that the complaints procedure had been reviewed to ensure complaints were appropriately managed.

The practice had quality assurance monitoring systems in place to ensure people received an effective service.