Cancellation, Missed Appointment & Deposit Policy
We understand that sometimes plans change and you may need to cancel or rearrange your appointment. We kindly ask that you provide at least 48 hour’s notice if you need to cancel or change your appointment. This allows us the opportunity to offer your appointment to another patient who may be waiting. We appreciate that emergencies and unexpected circumstances do happen, and we will always take these into consideration.
Missed and Broken Appointments
Short-notice cancellations and missed appointments mean that valuable clinical time is lost and other patients miss the opportunity to be seen.
An appointment will be considered a broken appointment if:
– You do not attend your appointment
– You arrive more than 20 minutes late and we are unable to see you
– You cancel or rearrange your appointment with less than 48 hour’s notice.
If you miss your appointment without notifying us, we will contact you by letter or email to remind you of our cancellation policy. Following a missed or broken appointment, we reserve the right to require full payment in advance before any future appointments can be booked.
Cancellation Due to Illness
If you are experiencing symptoms of a stomach bug, COVID-19, or any other contagious respiratory illness, please contact us as soon as possible so we can rearrange your appointment for when you are feeling better. This helps protect our team and other patients.
In cases of genuine illness or other exceptional circumstances, the 48-hour cancellation requirement may be waived at the discretion of the practice.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. By booking an appointment with us, you agree to provide a minimum of 48 hour’s notice should you need to cancel or rearrange your appointment. These policies help us make the best use of our clinical time and continue providing excellent care to all of our patients.
Treatment Deposit Policy
To help us manage our appointment schedule and ensure treatment time is reserved for every patient, we have introduced a £150 deposit for all treatment appointments.
This deposit is not an additional fee and will be deducted from the total cost of your treatment.
If you cancel or rearrange your appointment, 48 hour’s notice is required. Appointments cancelled or rescheduled with less than 48 hour’s notice will result in the £150 deposit being retained, unless there are exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the practice.
Complaints Policy and Procedure
Our Commitment
At Dentabrite Clinic we are committed to providing high-quality dental care to all our patients. We take feedback and complaints seriously and view them as an opportunity to learn, improve our services, and maintain trust and transparency with our patients. We aim to handle all complaints courteously, efficiently, and promptly so that concerns can be resolved as quickly as possible. The person responsible for handling all complaints in the practice is Chloe Clark
How to Make a Complaint
We hope that most issues can be resolved quickly and informally, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your concern cannot be resolved this way, or you would prefer to make a formal complaint, you may do so verbally, in writing, or by email.
Complaints Made Verbally
If you make a complaint in person or by telephone:
– We will listen to your concerns and, where possible, attempt to resolve them immediately.
– If the Complaints Lead is not available, a team member will record your details and a brief description of your complaint.
– Your complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days, and arrangements will be made for the Complaints Lead to contact you directly.
Complaints made in Writing or by Email
Written and emailed complaints will be passed immediately to the Complaints Lead, who will acknowledge receipt within 3 working days of receiving your correspondence.
Investigation and Response
– We will make every effort to resolve your complaint within 10 working days of acknowledgment.
– If the investigation is likely to take longer (for example, where clinical advice is required), we will inform you of the reason for the delay and agree on an updated timescale with you.
– If your complaint involves clinical care or treatment, the matter will usually be referred to the treating dentist, unless you specifically request otherwise.
– Once our investigation is complete, we will contact you via your preferred method (letter, email, or telephone) to share our findings and any actions taken.
Where necessary, we may seek advice from our indemnity provider, insurer, or legal adviser to ensure a fair and compliant response. In such cases, only relevant information will be shared, and confidentiality will be maintained at all times.
Confidentiality
All complaints are treated in the strictest confidence. Patient records will remain confidential, and only those involved in investigating or resolving your complaint will have access to the necessary information.
Learning from Complaints
We record all complaints centrally and regularly review them as part of our governance and quality improvement processes. This ensures we identify any trends, improve our services, and share learning across the team.
Time Limits for Making a Complaint
Complaints should normally be made within 12 months of the incident or the date the issue came to your attention.
However, we will always consider reasonable exceptions if there are valid reasons for the delay.
If You Are Not Satisfied
We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure first. We believe this gives us the best chance to put things right and improve our services.
However, if you remain dissatisfied, you may contact one of the following independent bodies:
The CQC: The CQC don’t get directly involved with complaints made to the practice. They do, however, encourage giving feedback to service providers.
To send feedback to the CQC please go to: https://www.cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care
Telephone: 03000 616161 (Mon to Fri, 8.30am – 5.30pm Excluding Bank Holidays)
The Dental Complaints Service handles complaints made by private patients.
Telephone: 0208 253 0800 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)
Website: https://dcs.gdc-uk.org/
The GDC
Telephone: 020 7167 6000
Website: https://contactus.gdc-uk.org/Complaint/Process/13