Complaints Procedure

Gordon Road Dental Care Complaints Procedure

The named leads for complaints are David Allen and/or Natalie Powell.

All complaints are acknowledged within 2 working days either written or orally and given a full written response within 10 working days. The patient will be kept informed of progress if this is not going to happen and timescales for the response will be given.

As quickly as possible after the complaint has been explained, the circumstances are investigated. The dentist and staff involved are asked for their views and suggestions. If appropriate, advice can be sought from the BDA or the dentist's defence organisation but an adversarial stance should be avoided. The investigation should take no longer than ten working days, and in most cases a much shorter period will suffice.

If the investigation requires the patient's records to be disclosed to a person other than the Contractor or an employee, the patient must be informed.

The complaint can play a positive part in monitoring and improving standards. Following any complaint that has been made to this practice, we shall endeavour to learn from the experience and update our working practises where necessary, including discussion and staff training for all concerned.

Complaints are documented in the complaints analysis report and reviewed annually.

Patients are encouraged to contact the practice in the first instance to enable us to deal with the complaint.

For complaints that are not resolved in- house, NHS patients are offered details of the NHS England Customer Contact Centre and the Patient Advisory Liaison Service

NHS ENGLAND
PO BOX 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT
Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: england.contactus@nhs.net

Patient Advisory Liaison Service
Tel: 0800 028 3693

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
0345 015 4033
Office Hours – 8.30-5.30 Monday to Friday
Email: enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk

Private patients:
The Dental Complaints Service (020 8253 0800) for complaints about private treatment

The General Dental Council, 37 Wimpole Street, London, W1M 8DQ (the dentists’ registration body)

Patients are not discriminated against following a complaint. Patients, carers and relatives are not treated adversely as a result of having complained.