7, 8 January 2013
During a routine inspection
We spoke to the dentist and dental nurse at the dental surgery.
People gave used mixed views about the standard of treatment they received but this was positive for the majority of people. Each person we spoke to was satisfied with the treatment they received, although one person said he was not satisfied with the lack of choice of dental filling available. One person said, 'I liked the work they did on my teeth.' Another person said he had new dentures within a week. Two people said they received dental treatment as a matter of urgency and one of these people said he was impressed with the response he received.
People said the dental staff treated them with respect.
We used our SOFI (Short Observational Framework for Inspection) tool to help us see what people's experiences were. The SOFI tool allows us to spend time watching what is going on in a service and helps us to record whether people have positive experiences. We observed a person receiving treatment in private. The dentist explained what he was doing and discussed the treatment options with the person. Dental staff treated the person with dignity. We spoke to the person after his treatment; he was satisfied with this.
People knew how to make a complaint but told us they had not had cause to use it.
We saw the service had infection control procedures for the cleaning and sterilisation of equipment.