Copyright Thames Valley Dental Specialists 2024
Westbrook House Dental Surgery | 6 West Street | Newbury | RG14 1BD | 01494 776 550
Feelgood Dental | 77 Belmont Road | Uxbridge | UB8 1QU | 01494 776 550
Beaconsfield House Dental | 28 Aylesbury End | Beaconsfield | HP9 1LW | 01494 776 550
St Mark’s Hospital | St Mark’s Road | Maidenhead | SL6 6DU | 01494 776 550
The Chesham Dentist | 260 - 290 Berkhampstead Road | Chesham | HP5 3EZ | 01494 776 550
Complaints Policy and
Procedure
1.
The person responsible for dealing with any complaint about the service which we
provide is the individual service Complaints Manager.
2.
If a patient complains by telephone or in person, we will listen to their complaint and
offer to refer them to the Complaints Manager immediately. If the Complaints Manager
is not available at the time, then the patient will be told when they will be able to talk
to the Complaints Manager and arrangements will be made for this to happen. The
member of staff will make a written record of your complaint and provide the patient
with a copy as well as passing it on to the Complaints Manager. 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 or by email it will be passed on immediately to the
Complaints Manager.
4.
If a complaint is about any aspect of clinical care or associated charges it will normally
be referred to the dental professional concerned, 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. We will offer to discuss
the complaint at a time agreed with the patient, asking how the patient would like to be
kept informed of developments, for example, by telephone, face to face meetings,
letters or e-mail. We will inform the patient about how the complaint will be handled and
the likely time that the investigation will take to be completed. If the patient does not
wish to discuss the complaint, we will still inform them of the expected timescale for
completing the process.
6.
We will seek to investigate the complaint speedily and efficiently and we will keep the
patient regularly informed, as far as reasonably practicable, as to the progress of the
investigation. Investigations will normally be completed within 10 days.
7.
When we have completed our investigation, we will provide the patient with a full
written report. The report will include an explanation of how the complaint has been
considered, the conclusions reached in respect of each specific part of the complaint,
details of any necessary remedial action and whether the service is satisfied with any
action it has already taken or will be taking as a result of the complaint.
8.
Proper and comprehensive records are kept of any complaint received as well as any
actions taken to improve services as a consequence of a complaint.
9.
If patients are not satisfied with the result of our procedure then a complaint may be
referred to:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,
Millbank Tower,
Millbank,
London,
SW1P 4QP
for complaints about NHS treatment, or the
Dental Complaints Service,
The Lansdowne Building,
2 Lansdowne Road,
Croydon, London
CR9 2ER
for complaints about private treatment.