It is our policy to deliver our services wherever possible in a way that ensures that all our patients are pleased with the experience. As a result, we welcome complaints as opportunities to learn and improve our patient service. If patients complain we take their complaint seriously. We aim to deal with complaints and resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

It is our complaints policy to aim to ensure that complaints are:

a. Dealt with efficiently, courteously and promptly

b. Properly investigated

c. Used to help us learn and develop as a practice

We aim to give patients who make a complaint about the care or treatment they have received, a helpful response at the appropriate time. We respect the patient’s right to complain and we deal with complainants confidentially.

Where reasonably practical we shall provide help to enable the complainant to understand our complaints procedure or advise on where they can obtain help.

Where we can, we shall aim to respond to a complaint immediately. If we cannot resolve it straight away, we shall investigate the complaint and advise the complainant of the outcome. We shall aim to complete our investigations as soon as reasonably possible. If we need to investigate the matter we will normally send an acknowledgment within 3 working days of receiving the complaint and respond to the complaint no later than 10 working days after receiving it. However, this may be different if there are exceptional circumstances or if we have agreed a different timescale with the patient.

If you have a complaint about our service and wish to discuss this with us, we will be happy to arrange to do this face to face or if you prefer, you can write to us, email or telephone.

Complaints should be made as soon as possible after the incident and normally be made within twelve months of the date of the incident or twelve months of the date of the knowledge of it happening. However, this time limit may be waived by us if we feel that there are genuine reasons for the complaint not being made sooner.

If, having raised the matter with us, we are unable to resolve it or reach agreement about how best to resolve it the patient may wish to contact

www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk

We normally expect any complaint to be made to us as soon as possible so that we can try to resolve it. Please contact our Complaints Co-ordinator whose details are below:

Alison Lake Practice Manager
01737 240123