Jump To:

Appointment Policy

At our practice we will endeavour to manage our appointments system to avoid delays in appointment times and minimise loss of surgery time through cancellations and failed attendance to appointments.

In our Practice we will:

• Communicate with patients with a courteous, friendly and professional manner

•Explain your treatment options and costs, answer your questions and allow you time to consider the best for you

• Make sure that patients receive full information about our services, their treatment and its costing

• Refer patients for further professional advice and treatment where appropriate

Practice Appointment System

• For private bookings, a fee will be charged for a late cancellation or failure to attend.
• NHS appointment- if you cancel your appointment on short notice or fail to attend, we will need to review your registration at the practice and appointment bookings.
• New NHS Patients- 1 fail to attend or short notice cancellation, we will not be able to rebook NHS appointments for you.
• NHS Treatments- 3 cancellations in a row for treatment, you will be added on a waiting list for next available appointment.
• 3 or more on time cancellations in one year, we will not be able to book NHS appointment for you.
• Arrive on time for your appointment, if you are late by 10 minutes or more, we may need to reschedule your appointment. We would also appreciate a call to inform us if you are running late.
• Let us know if you are unable to keep your appointment; please give at least 24 hours’ notice by telephone call or email ( 01375396264 or patientfirst@live.co.uk, info@patient-first.co.uk)
• Tell us if your contact details (address, telephone numbers, email) change so that we can keep our records up to date and ensure that we are able to contact you
• Treat our staff courteously; they will do their best to help meet your needs
• We try not to keep you waiting and to see you within 15 minutes of your appointment time. Where there is a delay, we will explain the reasons.
• We will do our best to remind you of the date and time of your appointment by text or email (if contact details are provided and corrected by patient), please not, if any issues with our internet it may not be sent.
• If we need to change or cancel an appointment, we will give you as much notice as possible, and explain the reasons.
• We will let you know if there is a change in the dentist that you will see, and explain the reason for the change.

Hygiene Appointment Policy

All hygiene payments must be paid on booking.

We cannot book any appointments without a payment made.

If you book a hygiene visit with the dental hygienist or dentist and you need to cancel or reschedule, you must cancel no later than 24 hours before the appointment.

Late Cancellation (Same day cancellation) = 50% fee lost

DNA (Did Not Attend) = FULL fee lost

Patient Complaints Procedure

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, investigating 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 and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have about this procedure.

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 accept complaints made verbally as well as written complaints. [If you do not feel you can raise a complaint about your NHS service directly with us, you can address your complaint directly to: england.contactus@nhs.net.

Danielle Stonehouse and Erika Jata are the Complaints Manager and will be your personal contact to assist you with any complaints.

You can send your complaints to Patient First Dental Practice, 28 London road, Grays Essex, RM17 5XY, call us on 01375396264 or email the Managers Danielle Stonehouse or Erika Jata at patientfirst@live.co.uk.

If the Managers are unavailable, we will take brief details about the complaint and will arrange for her to get back to you. We will keep comprehensive and confidential records of your complaint, which will be stored securely and only be accessible by those who need to know about your complaint. If the complaint investigation takes longer than anticipated, the Complaints Manager will contact you at least every ten working day to keep you informed of the reason for any delays, the progress of the investigation and the proposed date it will be completed.

When the investigation has been completed, you will be informed of its outcome in writing. We will make our response clear, addressing each of your concerns as best as we can. We will also discuss the results and any practical solutions that we can offer to you. These solutions could include replacing treatment, refunding fees paid, referring you for specialist treatments or other solutions that meet your needs and resolve the complaint.

We regularly review 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 the matter further, please see the contacts below.

If you are dissatisfied with our response to a complaint 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. Please see the contact details below.

Contacts

GDC private dental complaints service can be contacted by calling 020 8253 0800 or visiting www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk.

If you are still unhappy about your NHS complaint, you can contact Parliamentary Health Ombudsman (England): by calling 0345 015 4033 or visiting www.ombudsman.org.uk

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.

We aim to resolve verbal complaints within 48 hours where possible, but if you complain in writing the

Complaints Manager will will send an acknowledgement letter within 3 working days and will aim to provide a full response in writing as soon as practical.

Last modified: 10 May 2022