Complaints Procedure

If you need to complain

The person responsible for dealing with any complaint about the care or service provided by your Dentist or other members of this Practice is the Practice Manager,Mrs Jayne Mynors-Wallis.

If you wish to make a complaint, please contact Mrs Mynors-Wallis. The complaint may be made by speaking with Mrs Mynors-Wallis or by writing and you should receive a response from the Practice within ten working days. Your Dentist will try to resolve your complaint at this stage. Your statement, that of any staff involved, and the circumstances leading to the complaint will be investigated and a report produced. This process is called Local Resolution.

If a patient complains on the telephone or at the reception desk, we will listen to their complaint and offer to refer them to Mrs Mynors-Wallis. If Mrs Mynors-Wallis is not available, the member of staff will take details of the complaint and pass them on. If we cannot arrange this within a reasonable 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.

What happens?

If the patient complains in writing, the letter will be passed on immediately to Mrs Mynors-Wallis.

If a complaint is about any aspect of clinical care or associated charges it will normally be referred to the appropriate Dentist, unless the patient does not want this to happen.

We will acknowledge the patient’s complaint in writing and enclose a copy of the Practice Complaints Procedure as soon as possible, normally within three working days. We will seek to investigate the complaint and give an explanation of the circumstances which led to the complaint as soon as reasonably practicable after completing the investigation. If the patient does not wish to meet us, we will attempt to talk with them on the telephone.

We will confirm the decision about the complaint in writing immediately after completing our investigation.

Proper and comprehensive records are kept of any complaint received.

The outcome

If patients are not satisfied with the result of our investigation, then a complaint may be made to:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4QP. Telephone 0345 015 4033.

The Dental Complaints Service (08456 120540) for complaints about private treatment.

The General Dental Council, 37 Wimpole Street, London, W1M 8DQ (the Dentists’ registration body).

None of these procedures provide financial compensation.