North Street Dental Policy for Patient Complaints

At North Street Dental we take complaints very seriously indeed and try to ensure that patients are pleased with all aspects of the service we provide. When a patient complains, we will endeavour to deal with the complaint courteously and promptly. The following points form the complaints procedure.

All staff members are empowered to deal with verbal complaints and will offer an apology that the patient’s expectations have not been met and give an explanation as to the circumstances for this occurring.

  • If this explanation is acceptable to the patient, no further action will be taken. The patient should be encouraged to make a comment in the comments book or a suggestion if they feel we are not meeting their expectations. If this is not the case then the patient will be given an information sheet detailing how to make a formal written complaint to the practice.
  • The practice manager will deal with all written complaints.
  • Once a written complaint has been received we will acknowledge the complaint listing all areas of concern within 3 working days. The patient making a complaint will be given the opportunity to confirm these main areas of concern and make any additional comments.
  • A full response to these areas of concern will usually be issued within 20 working days of our initial acknowledgement. If a complaint requires more time to investigate, we will keep the patient informed. Complaints relating to financial services or credit broking may be subject to different regulatory timescales, as set out below.
  • If this is unacceptable to the patient or the matter cannot be resolved then the patient will be advised to contact the appropriate bodies to further their complaint (please see below).
  • North Street Dental will record all written complaints and their outcomes.
  • North Street Dental will audit our complaints procedure on an annual basis and amend our systems as required to improve the service we provide. This procedure will be completed in a shorter time period if necessary.

 

Complaints relating to dental finance or credit broking

If your complaint relates to dental finance, payment options or credit broking, please contact the practice in the first instance so that we can investigate your concerns.

Denture Clinic (West Midlands) Ltd trading as North Street Dental Clinic and Denture Clinic is a credit broker, not a lender, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA registration number: 796315.

We will acknowledge finance-related complaints promptly and investigate them fairly. For most financial services complaints, a business has up to 8 weeks to issue a final response.

If you are dissatisfied with our response and your agreement is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge. You must do so within six months of the date of our final response or 8-week holding letter.

Further information and contact details can be found at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

 

Financial Ombudsman Service

Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Telephone: 0800 023 4567 or 0300 123 9123

Care Quality Commission

Website: www.cqc.org.uk
Email: enquiries@cqc.org
Tel: 03000 616161
Address: Finsbury Tower, 103-105 Bunhill Row,
London EC1Y 8TG

Dental Complaints Service

Website: www.dcs.gdc-uk.org
Tel: 020 8253 0800

The Dentists’ Registration Body

The General Dental Council
37 Wimpole Street
London
W1M 8DQ

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Helpline: 0345 015 4033
Address: Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4QP

 

Important Note: If any patients require help with reading documents, completing forms, or require translation or further explanation, the practice can arrange for assistance to be provided when necessary. This will all be held in a private area of the practice (office or spare surgery) so as not to breach the confidentiality policy.

 

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