Complaint Procedure

We endeavour to provide a welcoming and positive experience for all of our patients when they attend appointments at the Practice, however we understand that sometimes things do not go to plan. We welcome both positive and negative feedback, which will be used for the team to develop and learn from to ensure we can offer a satisfactory experience.

It is our aim to always have satisfied patients, to meet your expectations of care and service and to resolve any complaints as efficiently, effectively and politely as possible. We take complaints very seriously, investigating them in a full and fair way and take great care to protect your confidentiality. We learn from complaints to improve our care and service. We will never discriminate against patients who have made a complaint, and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have about this procedure.

Our aim is to react to complaints in the way in which we would want our complaint about a service to be handled. We learn from every mistake that we make, and we respond to customers’ concerns in a caring and sensitive way.

1. The person responsible for dealing with any complaint about the service we provide is the Practice Manager.
2. If a patient complains on the telephone or at the Reception Desk, we will listen to their complaint and offer to refer him/her to the Practice Manager immediately. If the Manager is not available at the time, then the patient will be told when they will be able to talk to them and arrangements will be made for this to happen. If we cannot arrange this within a reasonable time period or if the patient does not wish to wait to discuss the matter, arrangements will be made for someone else to deal with it.
3. If the patient complains about the Practice in writing, the letter will be passed on immediately to the Practice Manager.
4. If a complaint is about any aspect of clinical care or associated charges it will normally be referred to the Dentist, unless the patient does not wish for this to happen.
5. We will acknowledge the patients complaint in writing and enclose a copy of this code of Practice as soon as possible, normally within three working days. We will seek to investigate the complaint within ten working days of receipt to give an explanation of the circumstances which led to the complaint. If the patient does not wish to meet face to face we will attempt communication via the telephone. If we are unable to investigate the complaint within ten working days, we will notify the patient giving reason for delay and a likely period within which the investigation will be completed.
6. We will confirm the decision about the complaint in writing immediately after completing our investigation.
7. Full and comprehensive records are kept of any complaint received.
8. If patients are not satisfied with the result of our procedure then a complaint can be made to:

• • General Dental Council, 37 Wimpole Street, London, W1M 8DQ
  • The Healthcare Commission, Finsbury Tower, 103-105 Bunhill Row, London EC1Y 8TG (healthcarecommision.org.uk)
  • NHS complaints – NHS England, PO BOX 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT, 0300 311 22 33
  • Cloverleaf Advocacy – NHS Derbyshire Residents – Tel: 01924 454874
  • The Dental Complaint Service – 0845120540 for complaints regarding Private Treatment