Complaints Procedure
Code of Practice for Patient Complaints
At Eclipse Dental Care we take any complaints very seriously indeed and try to ensure that all our patients are pleased with their experience of our service.
If patients complain they are dealt with courteously, promptly and without prejudice so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible. This procedure is based on these objectives:
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 patient’s concerns in a caring and sensitive way.
- If the complaint cannot be resolved by the initial point of contact that you report the problem to, then the person responsible for dealing with any complaint about the service that we provide is Joanne Roberts, the Practice Manager.
- If a patient complains on the telephone or at the reception desk, our receptionist will take the patient to a private area to listen to their complaint and try to resolve it. If this is not possible the complaint will be referred to Joanne Roberts and we will ask for this to be in writing for the sake of completeness and accuracy of the complaint being made.
- If a complaint is made 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.
- We will acknowledge the patient’s complaint in writing normally within 3 working days. We will seek to investigate the complaint within ten 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 10 working days we will notify the patient, giving reasons for the delay and a likely period within which the investigation will be completed.
- We will confirm the decision about the complaint in writing immediately after completing our investigation.
- Proper and comprehensive records are kept of any complaint received and on completion of our investigation we will ask the patient for feedback about their experiences of using our complaints procedure.
If you are not happy with the response you receive from us:
If NHS patients are not satisfied with the outcome of a complaint made through our practice complaints procedure then a complaint may be made to:
NHS England
PO Box 16738
Redditch
B97 9PT
Email: England.contactus@nhs.net
(Please state “For the attention of the complaints team”
In the subject line)
Tel: 0300 311 22 33 Mon-Fri 8am to 6pm
If private patients are not happy with the outcome of a complaint made through our practice complaints procedure then a complaint may be made to:
The Dental Complaints Service
Stephenson House
2, Cherry Orchard Road,
Croydon
CR0 6BA
Email: info@dentalcomplaints.org.uk
Tel: 0845 612 0540
Other regulatory bodies who may be able to assist in the event of a complaint not being resolved to your satisfaction are:
For Private complaints:
The General Dental Council.
37, Wimpole Street, London. W1G 8DQ
Tel: 0845 222 4141
For NHS Complaints only:
The Health Service Ombudsman.
Millbank Tower.
Millbank.
London.
SW1P 4QP.
Tel: 0845 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
