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.
If you are not entirely satisfied with any aspect of our care or service, please let us know as soon as possible to allow us to address your concerns promptly. We accept complaints made verbally as well as written complaints.
Our practice complaints procedure is as below:
Our commitment to you:
If you are unhappy with any aspect of your experience, please let us know so we can put things right.
We take all concerns and complaints seriously. We will:
Raising a concern or complaint will not affect your ongoing care or treatment.
How to raise a concern or complaint:
You can share your concern or make a complaint in a way that suits you:
The person responsible for managing complaints is the Practice Manager, Mrs Lucy Jordan-Chamberlain . If your concern relates to the Practice Manager/Registered Manager, you can speak to any member of our team, who will ensure it is passed to the appropriate person. Alternative arrangements are in place to ensure your concern is handled fairly. If you prefer, you can ask someone to raise a complaint on your behalf, such as a family member or representative.
What happens next?
We will acknowledge your concern – We aim to acknowledge your complaint as soon as possible, and not later than 3 working days after we receive it.
At this stage, an offer to discuss your complaint will be provided. This is a chance for you to understand:
Early Resolution – Where possible, we aim to resolve your concern quickly.
Investigation – If your concern is more complex or cannot be resolved straight away, we will carry out a full investigation. We will:
Our response – After investigating your complaint, we will write to you to explain:
We aim to respond as soon as possible, and not later than 6 months, unless we have agreed on a different timeframe with you. If there are any delays, we will let you know and explain why.
Time limits for making a complaint – It is usually helpful to raise your complaint: Within 12 months of the event, or within 12 months of becoming aware of the issue.
If you contact us after this time, we will still consider your complaint, but we may not be able to resolve it if it cannot be investigated fairly and effectively due to the time that has passed.
If you are not satisfied – We hope to resolve your concerns, but if you remain unhappy, you can obtain further support from:
Dental Complaints Service (Complaints regarding Private treatments) Tel: 020 8253 0800
Web: Dental Complaints Service
The Care Quality Commission (Concerns about the practice) Tel: 0300 616161
Web: Complain about a service or provider
General Dental Council (Concerns about a Dental Professional) Tel: 020 7167 6000
Web: Concerns about dental professionals
Support is also available for concerns relating to financial matters. Please speak to a member of staff for further details.
