Complaints policy

 

In this practice we take complaints very seriously and try to ensure that all patients are pleased with their experience of our service. When patients complain, they are dealt with courteously and promptly so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible. The following procedure is based on these objectives.
Complaint Process
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 patients’ concerns in a caring and sensitive way.
1.The persons responsible for dealing with any complaint about the services we provide is the Practice Manager. They can be contacted on godalming@iosisclinic.co.uk
2. If a patient complains on the telephone or at the reception desk, we will listen to his or her complaint and offer to refer him or her to the Practice Manager immediately. If the Practice Manager is not available at the time, then the patient will be told when he or she will be able to talk to the Practice Manager and arrangements will be made for this to happen. The member of staff will take brief details of the complaint and pass them on. If we cannot arrange this within a reasonable period or if the patient does not wish to wait to discuss the matter, arrangements will be made for someone else to deal with it.
3. If the patient complains in writing, the letter will be passed on immediately to the Practice Manager
4. If a complaint is 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.

5. We will acknowledge the patient’s complaint in writing and enclose a copy of this code of practice as soon as possible, normally within three working days. We will seek to investigate the complaint within ten working days of the complaint being received 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 him or her on the telephone. If we are unable to investigate the complaint within ten working days, we will notify the patient, giving reasons for the delay and a likely period within which the investigation will be completed.

6. We will confirm the decision about the complaint in writing to the patient immediately after completing our investigation.

7. Proper and comprehensive reports are kept of any complaint received.

8. Records are kept of any changes made as a result of a complaint (lessons learnt).

9. If patients are not satisfied with the result of our procedure then a complaint may be made to the respective agencies mentioned in the contacts section of this page.

10. Patients can also contact the British Dental Health Foundations advice line, Word Of Mouth, for information and advice – 0845 063 1188.

Complaint Contacts

Care Quality Commission

151 Buckingham Palace Rd,
Victoria,
London
SW1W 9SZ
Tel: 03000 616161
www.cqc.org.uk/

For complaints about NHS Treatment

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
LONDON
SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 015 4033
https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/

NHS England
PO Box 16738
Redditch
B97 9PT
england.contactus@nhs.net

For complaints about Private Treatment

The Dental Complaints Service
Dental Complaints Service
37 Wimpole Street
London
W1G 8DQ
Tel. 020 8253 0800
www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk