PATIENT COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

WE’RE HERE TO HELP – TALK TO US

We are very proud of our practice and the standards that our practice team hold when treating you. We know that most of our patients support us by the number of kind and generous compliments we receive every year.

We like to know we are doing a good job for you, however, if we are not, or you have concerns about your care in our Practice, then please let us know.

We try to ensure that all patients are pleased with their experience of our service & we take concerns or complaints very seriously indeed. When patients complain or relay concerns, they are dealt with courteously and promptly so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible.

We base this procedure on these objectives:

1. We aim to provide a professional, courteous, and efficient service.
2. We respond to patients’ concerns in a caring and sensitive way.

The people ultimately responsible for complaints about the service we provide are the dentists of the Practice:

We aim to use any compliments, concerns, or complaints as a learning tool to improve training and outcomes.

It is our aim to always have satisfied patients, to meet your expectations of care and service and to resolve any complaints as efficiently, effectively, and politely as possible. We take complaints very seriously; we investigate them in a full and fair way and take great care to protect your confidentiality. We learn from complaints to improve our care and service. We will never discriminate against patients who have made a complaint.

If you are not entirely satisfied with any aspect of our care or service; please let us know as soon as possible to allow us to address your concerns promptly.

Mr Christopher Griffiths LLB is the complaints manager for Glenhaven Dental and will be your personal contact to assist you with any complaints regarding the practice. If your verbal complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction within 48 hours or if you complain in writing, the complaints manager will acknowledge it in writing within 2 working days and will aim to provide a full response in writing within 30 working days.

If the complaints manager is unavailable, we will take brief details about the complaint and will arrange for a meeting when they are next available. We will keep comprehensive and confidential records of your complaint, which will be stored securely and only be accessible to those who need to know about your complaint.
If the complaint investigation takes longer than anticipated, the complaints manager will keep you informed of the reason for the delay, the progress of the investigation and the proposed date it will be completed.

When the investigation has been completed, you will be informed of its outcome in writing and invited to a meeting to discuss the results and any practical solutions we can offer you.
We regularly analyse patient complaints to learn from them and improve our services. That’s why we always welcome your feedback, comments, suggestions, and complaints. If you are dissatisfied with our response to your complaint, you can take it further (please see the contacts below).

Contacts

For Private Dental Treatment, you can contact the GDC private dental complaints service within 12 months of the treatment or within 12 months of becoming aware of the issue by calling 0208 253 0800 or visiting www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk

You can also contact the Health Inspectorate of Wales who is the Independent Inspectorate and regulator of all Health Care in Wales by calling 0300 062 8163.

The General Dental Council (GDC) is responsible for regulating all dental professionals. You can complain using their online form at www.gdc-uk.org, contact them at information@gdc-org.uk or by calling 0207 167 6000.

To view this version in Welsh – please click here.

To view our Compliments, Concerns and Complaints leaflet – please click here.
A copy of all these documents is available upon request from reception.