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; 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 patients who have made a complaint.
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 hope that problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like to let us know as soon as possible- ideally within a matter of days or at most a few weeks. This will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint.: –
- Within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem: or
- Within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the incident.
Complaints should be addressed to our complaints manager Lina Kotecha, or any of the dentists. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with Lina Kotecha in order to discuss your concerns. She will explain the complaints procedure to you and will ensure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. It will be a great help if you are as specific as possible about your complaint.
What will happen once you have complained?
We shall acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within ten working days of the date when you raised it with us. We shall then be able to offer you an explanation, or a meeting with those involved.
In investigating your complaint, we shall aim to: –
- Find out what happened and what went wrong
- Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this
- Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate
- Identify what we can do to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of confidentially. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we must know that you have permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of physical or mental illness) of providing this.
We regularly analyse patient complaints to learn from them and to improve our services. That’s why we always welcome your feedback, comments, suggestions and complaints. If you are dissatisfied with our response to a complaint you can take it further, please see the contacts below.
Contacts
If you do not feel you can raise a complaint about your NHS service directly with us, you can address your complaint directly to NHS England at england.contactus@nhs.net.
For private dental treatment you can contact the GDC private dental complaints service within 12 months of the treatment or within 12 months of becoming aware of the issue by calling 020 8253 0800 or visiting www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk.
You can also contact The Care Quality Commission (CQC) who regulates private and NHS dental care services in England.
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 7167 6000.
