Archived: Berry Lane Dental Surgery

A system of annual staff appraisals had been introduced. Each member of staff had completed an appraisal in August 2013 and a further cycle of appraisals was scheduled for late August 2014. Where development areas were identified during staff appraisals there were not always documented action plans in place to show how they were to be addressed.

The provider held regular staff meetings and management support was readily accessible to staff on a day to day basis if required. An improved induction programme for new staff was in place which included consideration of all practice policies and procedures, and the opportunity to shadow existing staff in carrying out their role.

The provider had implemented a policy and procedure to respond to any complaints received. The policy was comprehensive but not well published. A system for recording complaints had been introduced that would enable the provider to easily identify any emerging trends. No complaints had been received since our last inspection.

On the day of the inspection we looked at patient records. We discussed patient records with the patients we spoke with. One patient said, 'I am very pleased with my treatment and have confidence in the staff.'

We were talked through the decontamination procedures. The decontamination area consisted of two distinct rooms connected via a shuttered window. One room was designated 'dirty' and the other designated 'clean'. The risk of contamination and cross infection was minimised.

Policies and procedures designed to support staff and management had not been implemented at the practice. Policies had been received from Denplan but the practice manager had not received any support in how to implement them.

The practice did not have appropriate policies or procedures in place for identifying, receiving, handling and responding to complaints. This did not allow the practice to make any potential improvements from people who may have wished to make a complaint.