Archived: Winchester Dental Practice

During this inspection of Winchester Dental Practice there was one dentist providing treatment, who was also the registered provider. We spoke with the provider and a dental nurse about their work.

During our inspection we also spoke with three people in order to obtain their views about the dental service they received. All the people we spoke with expressed positive views about the surgery and the treatment they received. One person we spoke with told us, "My expectations have all been met", and another individual said the dentist "appears to do a thorough job".

We found that people were protected from the risk of infection because appropriate guidance had been followed.

We found that the provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.

We looked at the patient records for eight people, including records written by the dentist and hygienist working at the practice. We saw the information recorded at examinations and at subsequent visits. The dentist had recorded their examination of soft tissues, teeth and other relevant observations. One patient told us about the care that had been provided to their elderly relative. The dentist had provided care outside surgery hours when they had been in pain. They told us: 'He went above and beyond'.

The practice did not have a separate decontamination room. Staff had procedures in place to clean and sterilise instruments in the surgery. We saw that the decontamination process only took place when patients were not in the room. However the practice did not have a plan outlining the way forward in relation to the improvements required to move towards a separate decontamination room.

The dentist had sought the views of colleagues who had provided a peer review of his clinical skills and training. However patients had not been given the opportunity to comment on the service. Their views had not been sought in relation to the standard of care and treatment.