Our Policies
Complaints Procedure
We aim to make your experience as pleasurable as possible.
However, should you have any complaints, please contact the practice manager, Dawn Hampshire, or the NHS Contract Holder Akvinder Pooni, who will handle them and walk you through our procedure.
Alternatively, you can pick up a copy of the practice policy from our reception.
Lapsed NHS/Private Patient Policy
Due to the high number of people wanting to receive NHS dental treatment and the very long waiting lists, our dental practice has no choice but to remove patients who have not attended and/or that have failed to respond to repeated attempts to book their checkup appointment. This means you will need to join our waiting list to be seen in the practice again on the NHS or refused treatment.
​
- We encourage our patients to book their appointments in advance or contact us if unsure.
​
- If you have an appointment, please make sure you don’t forget it. (see late attendance, Repeat, late cancellation and missed appointments below).
​
- Please take every step necessary to make sure that you arrive in good time. We need to be strict about both missed appointments and late arrivals and ask that, if you must cancel, make sure you do at least 3 working days in advance by phoning the practice.
​
- We value all our patients, and we don’t want to have to tell anyone that we are unable to provide them with routine NHS appointments.
Patient Confidentiality
We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously and all personal information is treated in the strictest confidence.
Only staff members have access to patient information. All our patient records are stored securely to ensure that any patient information is only accessed as part of clinical and management requirements. No information will ever be released to a third party without your express permission.
To see a copy of this policy or if you would like further information regarding your rights to view your patient records, please ask at reception.
Late Attendence, Repeat, Late cancelllations and missed appointments
Due to the high demand for dental care and our long waiting lists, we have no choice to be strict on missed appointments and late cancellations.
Our policy is that two repeated missed appointments/late and repeated cancellations will result in you being removed from our practice list and refused treatment. Irrespective of the stage of treatment that you are at.
For private/hygiene patients, a fee is incurred on missed appointments
How to keep your place as an Active NHS patient
• Always attend any appointment booked or cancel the appointment more than 3 working days in advance.
​
• Make sure you book your next dental examination before you leave the practice.
​
• Check and update your contact details. Be sure they are correct.
​
• Email and Mobile numbers. If we can keep in touch with you, then we can help you keep on track, so you can book and don’t miss your appointment.
​
Reminders
​
Email reminders are provided a month before your appointment. While Text reminders are provided approximately a week before. If we have your correct contact information on file, we can provide a reminder. It is your responsibility to check your text messages, missed calls, answer phone messages and emails to ensure that we are informed of any changes to your contact information.
Please note, it is a patient’s responsibility to turn up on time for an appointment. Failure of our reminder system for any reason is not a sufficient reason for failing to attend or turning up too late for treatment.