Complaints Policy

The practice is committed to offer high standards of care and service to our patients. We take complaints very seriously and will make best endeavours to deal with any dissatisfaction promptly and courteously following the agreed procedure and use the investigation to learn from our mistakes. A complaint has to be made within 12 months of it happening. Patients who complain will not be discriminated against in future.
  • This procedure does not apply to verbal complaints that have been resolved within 24 hours.
  • The person responsible for dealing with patient complaints is the practice manager.
  • If a patient complains on the telephone or at the reception desk, we will listen to their complaint and offer to refer them to the practice manager. If the practice manager is not available at the time the member of staff will take brief details of the complaint and pass them on. If this cannot be arranged in a reasonable amount of time, and the patient does not wish to wait, arrangements will be made for a practice member to deal with it. The office is available as a private area to talk with patients if required.
  • If the complaint is made in writing the letter or e-mail it will be passed immediately to the practice manager.
  • Patients will receive an initial complaint acknowledgement either by telephone, email or letter (depending on the method best suited to the patient) from the practice manager within 3 working days with an offer to discuss the matter.
  • Every effort will be made to fully investigate the issue properly and appropriately within 10 working days. If there is a delay in investigation the patient will be notified either by telephone, email or letter, giving the reasons and the likely date for its completion.
  • We will keep comprehensive records. A complaints record sheet is completed and kept in the complaints file in the office
  • The practice manager will confirm the decision about the complaint in writing immediately after completing the investigation. The report will explain how the complaint has been considered and what conclusions have been achieved and any actions that need to be taken.
  • If the patient is still dissatisfied with the outcome, they will be informed of the right to contact:
The Dental Complaints Service (020 8253 0800) Stephenson House, 2 Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon, CR0 6BA for complaints about private treatment.
Staff Additional Information
An annual report will be produced to show actions taken to improve services. It will be made available to anyone who requires it.
A copy of the following document can be found in office: Principles of Complaints Handling, General Dental Council Standards Guidance
Date of Policy: August 2019