Code of practice for Patient Complaints / Policy

Complaints Contact Details

Name: Kelly Eadsforth-yates

Telephone:  0161 445 3344

E-mail:  kelly1templer@gmail.com

At M20 & LS1  Dental  we take complaints very seriously and try to ensure that all our patients are pleased with their experience of our service.  When patients complain, they are dealt with courteously and promptly so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible.  This procedure is based on these objectives.

Our Procedures

Any complaint verbal or written, including electronically, will be referred to our complaint’s manager ( named above ) at the earliest opportunity or to a member of the senior management if the complaints manager is unavailable. We will also

• Record details on the firm’s system immediately
• We will not delay your complaint by asking you to write to us about your complaint
• We will acknowledge the complaint in writing promptly
• We will make contact to seek clarification on any points where necessary
• Fully investigate the complaint
• Keep you informed of our progress
• Discuss with you our findings and proposed response
• Ensure that our firm partners have a compliant complaints procedure and are communicating with their customer using this
• Provide clear deadlines to respond

You will receive contact from us advising on progress if we cannot respond immediately. We will let you have our final response as soon as possible and not later than eight weeks.

Our aim is to react to complaints in the way in which we would want our complaint about a service to be handled.  We learn from every mistake that we make and we respond to customers’ concerns in a caring and sensitive way.

1. The person responsible for dealing with any complaint about the service that we provide is the Practice Manager.
2. If a patient complains on the telephone or at the reception desk, we will listen to their complaint and offer to refer him or her to the Practice Manager immediately. If the Practice Manager is not available at the time, then the patient will be told when they will be able to talk to the dentist and arrangements will be made for this to happen. The member of staff will take brief details of the complaint and pass them on. If we cannot arrange this within a reasonable period or if the patient does not wish to wait to discuss the matter, arrangements will be made for someone else to deal with it.
3. If the patient complains in writing/ email this will be passed on immediately to the Practice Manager.
4. If a complaint is about any aspect of clinical care or associated charges it will normally be referred to the dentist, unless the patient does not want this to happen.
5. We will acknowledge the patient’s complaint in writing and enclose a copy of this code of practice as soon as possible, normally within 3 working days.
6. We will seek to investigate the complaint within 14-21 working days of receipt to give an explanation of the circumstances which led to the complaint. If the patient does not wish to meet us, then we will attempt to talk to them on the telephone. If we are unable to investigate the complaint within 14-21 working days we will notify the patient, giving reasons for the delay and a likely period within which the investigation will be completed.
7. We will confirm the decision about the complaint in writing immediately after completing our investigation.
8. Proper and comprehensive records are kept of any complaint received.
9. If patients are not satisfied with the result of our procedure then a complaint may be made to:

• The Dental Complaints Service (DCS )  37, Wimpole street , Marylebone, London ,W1G 8GT   020 8253 0800  – complaints about private treatment
• The General Dental Council, 37 Wimpole Street, London, W1M 8DQ (Telephone: 020 7167 600), the dentists’ regulatory body for complaints about professional misconduct