Archived: The Ongar Dental Practice

When we inspected this service in August 2013, we found that people were not always protected from the risk of infection because appropriate guidance had not been followed. We also found that people were not cared for by staff who were supported to deliver care and treatment safely and to an appropriate standard. The manager sent us an action plan to tell us how this would be put right.

At this inspection on 06 March 2014, we found that the practice was generally clean and fresh and that the decontamination room was uncluttered with clear signs to distinguish the dirty and clean areas. We spoke with two staff who were able to demonstrate that regular refresher training took place and that staff appraisals had been introduced and that personal development plans were now in place.

We spoke with two people who used the service at the time of our inspection. They said, 'We have been coming here for 27 years, we get a very good service indeed' and, 'It is always clean, I have never seen it to be any different.'

At our inspection of 08 August 2013 we found that there had been improvements to the inside of the building, for example, locks had been fitted to doors that led to other unoccupied parts of the building. The provider had introduced a system of audits to ensure the quality of service.

We reviewed eight plans of care. We found from talking with people that they were involved in their treatment planning and were presented with all the treatment options open to them with associated costs.

There were areas of concern surrounding the prevention and control of infection. Infection control practices were not always adhered to. For example, the area where clean instruments were packed was dusty.

We saw evidence that staff received professional development. However, some of the theoretical learning was not reflected in practical skills that we saw, for example, competency in the operation of emergency equipment.

One person said, "The people here are great. The dentist is brilliant. When I moved to another area, I went to another dentist nearer home, but came back here because I preferred it." Another said, "Always friendly. Really good dentist. Great for children. Ten out of ten.'