Archived: Queen Square Dental Practice

At this inspection we found some improvements. For example, at the last visit we saw sinks in the treatment rooms had plugs which meant water could not drain away easily. This meant there was a risk of cross infection from the dirty instruments to the plug. At this inspection we saw the plugs had been removed and the risk of infection minimised. However the practice still did not have sufficient audits in place to ensure they were aware of any shortfalls in their infection control procedures.

At the inspection we were able to speak with three patients. One patient had attended the practice for a number of years. They said they were very pleased with the service provided and the standard of cleanliness. Another patient said "it always seems clean and tidy here."

We were able to talk with one dentist and a dental nurse who told us the decontamination room would be refurbished by March 2015.

They said they were very pleased with the service provided and had never had reason to raise any concerns.

One person said they were "very happy with the service."

People told us they were involved in all decisions relating to their treatment. They said they were asked whether there had been medical changes the dentist would need to be aware of.

People said they could make appointments including emergency appointments easily.

We were able to talk with two of the dentists and three dental nurses. A dental nurse explained how infection control was managed within the practice. They told us they had received infection control training as part of their qualification course work and attended on-going training. There was a separate decontamination room with three autoclaves, previously from each dentist's treatment room. We saw the door of the room could not close and the ventilation for the room was via several small holes in the wall leading to the outside. This meant that debris could enter the room. We saw the sink under these ventilation holes was stained and contained black dust. The ceiling was also stained. The practice manager told us they were considering moving the decontamination room.