Complaints

COMPLAINTS POLICY

 

Belmont House Dental practice tries to ensure that all patients are happy with their experience of our service and takes complaints very seriously. When patients make a complaint, we ensure they are dealt with courteously and promptly so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible. We learn from every mistake and we respond to patients’ concerns in a caring and sensitive way.

 

If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the dentists or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us know.  We operate a practice complaints procedure.  Our complaint system adheres to national criteria.

 

How to Complain

 

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, 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 you to let us know as soon as possible – ideally, within a matter of days or at most a few weeks – because this will enable us to establish what happened most easily.  If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:

• within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem; or
• within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the incident.

 

Complaints about the treatment you received should be made to the dentist who normally sees you.  Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with Rosie Jones, Practice Manager to discuss your concerns. She will explain the complaints procedure to you and will ensure that your concerns are dealt with promptly.  It will help if you are as clear as possible about your complaint.

 

What We Will Do

 

We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and aim to have investigated your complaint within 10 working days and be in a position, to offer a full response. If a full response cannot be achieved due to the investigation still being in progress, we will keep you updated of our progress regularly until we are able to respond fully with our investigation findings.

In investigating your complaint, we will aim to:

• find out what happened and what went wrong
• enable you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this;
• ensure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate;
• identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.

 

 

Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else

 

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of confidentiality.  If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we must know that you have the permission to do so.  A note signed by the person concerned will be needed in addition to verbal consent from the patient, unless they are incapable of providing this because of physical or mental illness or are a child under 16 years.

 

Complaining to Dental Complaints Service

 

We hope that, if you have a problem, you will make use of our practice complaints procedure.  We believe this will provide the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice.  However, this does not affect your right to complain to the Dental Complaints Service, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us or you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation.  If you wish further advice you should contact:

Dental Complaints Service

Stephenson House

2 Cherry Orchard Rd

Croydon

CR0 6BA                 

Tel.  020 8253 0800    

E-mail:  info@dental complaints.org.uk

 

You may also like to contact The General Dental Council for more advice:

The General Dental Council

37 Wimpole Street

London

W1M 8DQ            

Tel. 020 7887 3800      

E-mail:  complaints@gdc-uk.org

 

For those patients who have a complaint regarding treatment they have received under the NHS can also contact PALS or:

NHS Putting Things Right:

The Concerns Team,

Ysbyty Gwynedd,

Bangor, Gwynedd,

LL57 2PW            

Tel. 01248  384194      

E-mail:  ConcernsTeam.bcu@wales.nhs.uk

 

 

For those patients registered with this practice with Denplan (Simply Health Professionals) can contact Denplan via:

The Head of Customer Services,
Denplan Limited,
Simplyhealth House,
Victoria Road,
Winchester,
SO23 7RG             

Tel. 0800 023 4567        

Email: customerrelations@denplan.co.uk.