The Care Quality Commission

Archived: Friar Street Dental Practice

83-85 Friar Street, Droitwich Spa, Droitwich, Worcestershire, WR9 8EQ (01905) 799228

Provided and run by:
Mrs. Sarah Greenhouse

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

All Inspections

16 December 2011

During a routine inspection

As part of our review we spoke with three people who were at the practice for treatment when we visited and with two others by telephone. We spoke with the dentist, receptionist and dental nurse who were present on the day of our visit. The practice manager and the person named as nominated individual for the practice's registration with the commission both came in on their days off and made their time available to us. We were able to gain further information from nine survey forms left be people in a comments box in the waiting room. Following our visit a person emailed us with their positive views about the practice.

The people we spoke with were positive about the service they receive at the surgery. They told us the staff were friendly and polite and that they do not usually have to wait long in the waiting room before they are seen. Some people we spoke to also mentioned that the surgery is helpful about fitting people in at short notice for emergency treatment.

One person we spoke with told us they thought their dentist was 'brilliant' and another told us they were 'petrified of the dentist' but that the dentist they visit makes them feel safe.

People told us that their dentist explained their treatment options to them and that they were given printed information about this and the costs involved.

People said that the surgeries were clean and that the dentists and nurses wear disposable gloves when providing their treatment. Two of the people we spoke with said that they had not always been provided with goggles to protect their eyes during treatment. During our visit we found that the management of the prevention of cross infection and decontamination of instruments needed to be improved.

We were told that the dental nurse and dental nurse/receptionist working on the day of our visit had recently completed their training and would be registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) in due course. The nominated individual confirmed that she, the practice manager, and all of the dentists who work at the surgery were registered with the GDC. We did not look in detail at staff recruitment or records but identified that formal checks made on staff working at the practice (such as Criminal records Bureau checks) needed to be recorded in a more structured way.

The management arrangements at the practice did not include effective quality assurance processes to ensure that policies and procedures were always followed in the day to day work of the practice. Arrangements for monitoring the quality of the service and dealing with safety alerts, concerns and complaints needed to be managed in a more organised way.

The nominated individual responded constructively to the feedback we gave during our visit and assured us that the necessary improvements would be made.