We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible – ideally, within a matter of days or at most a few weeks – because this will enable us to establish what happened most easily.
If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:
- within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem; or
- within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the incident.
Complaints about the treatment you received should be made to the dentist who normally sees you. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with Dr Sarah Herbert in order to discuss your concerns. She will explain the Practice Complaints Procedure to you and will ensure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. It will help if you are as clear as possible about your complaint.
We shall acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within 10 working days of the date when you raised it with us. We shall then be in a position to give you an explanation or offer a meeting with those involved.
In investigating your complaint, we shall aim to:
- find out what happened and what went wrong
- enable you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this
- ensure you receive an apology where this is appropriate and identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.
We hope that, if you have a problem, you will make use of our Practice Complaints Procedure. We believe this will provide the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our Practice. However, this does not affect your right to complain to the Dental Complaints Service, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us or you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation.
Dental Complaints Service, 37 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 8DQ
Tel: 020 8253 0800 (Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm)
https://dcs.gdc-uk.org
Complaints@gdc-uk.org
For those patients registered with Denplan, please contact them by telephone for advice on 0800 169 7220.
