Enter and view: Manor Park Family Dental Centre

Healthwatch Sheffield carried out an Enter and View visit to Manor Park Family Dental Centre, a two-surgery dental practice providing predominantly NHS-funded dental care. Overall, the practice was described as small, well organised and delivering good-quality patient care. Patients interviewed during the visit were highly positive about their experiences, praising both the clinical care and ease of obtaining appointments. Comments included: “they know their job”, “I’ve got no complaints at all” and “I’ve brought my family here”.

The practice benefited from stable staffing, experienced clinicians and a strong commitment to staff development. Employees spoke positively about training opportunities provided by the parent organisation, Nationwide Healthcare Providers Ltd, and the practice held the Investors in People Gold Award. The surgeries and decontamination facilities had recently been refurbished and were found to be clean, bright and well maintained, with robust systems for instrument sterilisation and infection control. 

Healthwatch identified accessibility as the main limitation. Both treatment rooms were located upstairs and there was no wheelchair access to the surgeries. Patients with significant mobility difficulties were therefore referred to other practices within the same group that could accommodate their needs. The practice did, however, provide support for patients with language needs through multilingual staff and access to professional interpreters. A hearing loop was available, although its presence was not clearly signposted. 

The report found that appointment access was generally good, with emergencies usually seen within an hour during opening times and patients reporting minimal delays for routine appointments. However, failed appointments (FTAs) remained a significant issue, with around 20 missed appointments each week. The practice already used reminder letters, telephone calls and text messages to reduce non-attendance and subsequently committed to introducing additional email reminders. Healthwatch also recommended improving visibility of staff roles and language skills, ensuring staff wore name badges, strengthening online information about the practice and reviewing systems for monitoring attendance data. The provider responded positively and confirmed that most recommendations had already been implemented or were underway.