COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
Patient Complaints Procedure
It is our aim to always have satisfied patients, to meet your expectations of care and service and toresolve any complaints as efficiently, effectively and politely as possible. We take complaints very seriously, we investigate 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 patientswho have made a complaint.
If you are not entirely satisfied with any aspect of our care or service please let us know as soon aspossible to allow us to address your concerns promptly.
If you do not feel you can raise a complaint about your NHS service directly with us, you can addressyour complaint directly to [V: see below to complete this section].
The Practice Manager is the Complaints Manager and will be your personal contact to assist you with anycomplaints. If your verbal complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction within 24 hours or if youcomplain in writing, the Complaints Manager will acknowledge it in writing within 3 working days andwill aim to provide a full response in writing [X: see below to complete this section].
If the Complaints Manager is unavailable, we will take brief details about the complaint and will arrangefor a meeting when the person is next available.We will keep comprehensive and confidential records ofyour complaint, which will be stored securely and only be accessible only by those who need to knowabout your complaint.
If the complaint investigation takes longer than anticipated the Complaints Manager will keep youinformed of the reason for the delay, the progress of the investigation and the proposed date it will becompleted.
When the investigation has been completed, you will be informed of its outcome in writing and invitedto a meeting to discuss the results and any practical solutions that we can offer to you. These solutionscould include replacing treatment, refunding fees paid, referring you for specialist treatments or othersolutions that meet your needs and resolve the complaint.
We regularly analyse patient complaints to learn from them and to improve our services. That’s why wealways welcome your feedback, comments, suggestions and complaints. If you are dissatisfied with ourresponse to a complaint you can take it further, please see the contacts below.
Contacts
For private dental treatment you can contact the GDC private dental complaints service within 12months of the treatment or within 12 months of becoming aware of the issue by calling 020 8253 0800 or visiting www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk.
If you are still unhappy about your NHS complaint, you can contact [Y: see below to complete thissection].
You can also contact [Z: see below to complete this section] who may be able to help.
The General Dental Council is responsible for regulating all dental professionals. You can complain using their online form at www.gdc-uk.org contact them on information@gdc-org.uk or by calling 020 71676000.