Shrewsbury dental practices praised in inspections

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors carried out what were described as "comprehensive" assessments of both Monkmoor Dental Practice and Bayston Hill Dental Practice in Shrewsbury.

Inspectors assessed the practices in line with five separate categories, to decide whether they are "safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

Both practices were judged to have passed all criteria.

As part of the inspection of Bayston Hill Practice, which looks after around 1,800 patients, people were asked to fill out CQC comment cards with their opinions.

Inspectors found: "These provided extremely positive views of the service the practice provides.

"Patients told us the practice was either excellent or very good, staff were welcoming, that the dentists were professional, caring, understanding of their anxieties, thorough and fully explained any procedures and the fees/costs.

"Several patients specifically commented that the dentists put them at ease and had allayed their fears."

The report into Monkmoor, which has more than 6,000 registered patients saw inspectors speak with 20 patients to assess their views of the practice.

It stated: "Twenty patients provided feedback about the practice. All the feedback we received from patients was positive, including access to appointments, their care and treatment and all made complimentary remarks about their overall experience of the practice."

Inspectors praised a number of aspects of the care provided at Monkmoor, including that "patients said their care and treatment was explained and they felt involved in decisions about their treatment."

The report also concluded that the appointments system met the needs of patients, the practice had effective infection control procedures, patients received clear explanations and written information about their proposed treatment, costs, benefits and risks and were involved in making decisions about them and that the practice sought feedback from staff and patients about the services they provided.

Bayston Hill was found to be "visibly clean and tidy", with "systems for dealing with significant events and accidents" and staff who understood their responsibilities for providing a safe service.

The practice was also praised for its approach to children's safeguarding and maintaining clinical records included "the essential information expected about patients' care and treatment including treatment plans and consent to care and treatment."

Inspectors found that the practice received very few complaints and had a clear system for handling and responding to them.

Several recommendations for improvement were also made as part of the Bayston Hill reports, including considering storage facilities for medicines.