Feedback & Complaints Procedure

Please let us know if you have feedback or a complaint about the service you have received from the dentists, or any of the staff, working in this practice by emailing us at admin@hartswooddental.co.uk

We operate a practice complaints procedure which adheres to national criteria and we take complaints very seriously - as we try to ensure that all of our patients are pleased with their experience whilst in our care. Any feedback or complaints are dealt with courteously and promptly so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible. The below procedure is based on these objectives.

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.

• The person responsible for dealing with any complaint about the service which we provide is our Practice Manager.
• If a patient complains on the telephone or at the reception desk, we will listen to their complaint and offer to refer him or her to our Practice Manager  immediately. If this person is not available at the time, then the patient will be told when they will be able to talk to the dentist and arrangements will be made. 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.
• If the patient complains in writing the letter or email will be passed on immediately to the Practice Manager.
• 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.
• We will acknowledge the patient’s complaint in writing and enclose a copy of this Code of Practice as soon as possible.
• We will seek to investigate the complaint within 10 working days of receipt 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 them on the telephone. If we are unable to investigate the complaint within 10 working days we will notify the patient, giving reasons for the delay and a likely period within which the investigation will be completed.
• We will confirm the decision about the complaint in writing immediately after completing our investigation.
• Proper and comprehensive records are kept of any complaint received in our Complaints File.
• If patients are not satisfied with the result of our procedure then a complaint may be made to: 

Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of confidentiality.  If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have the permission to do so.  A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless that are incapable of providing this because of physical or mental illness or are a child under 16 years.

Complaining to External Agencies:

We hope that, if you have a problem with any of the dental care and/or treatments you have received from us, you will make use of our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will provide the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice. However this does not affect your right to complain to a relevant External Complaints Service, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us or you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation. 

Dental Complaints Service (Private Dentistry)

The Dental Complaints Service (DCS) provide advice and support to anyone who needs help with resolving issues relating to private dentistry:

Dental Complaints Service

The Lansdowne Building
2 Lansdowne Road
Croyden
CR9 2ER

Tel. 08456 120 540
E-mail:  info@dentalcomplaints.org.uk

You may also like to contact The General Dental Council for more advice:

The General Dental Council
37 Wimpole Street
London
W1M 8DQ

Tel. 020 7887 3800
E-mail:  Complaints@gdc-uk.org

Surrey Heartlands ICB (NHS Dental Services)

The ICB’s Complaints Team handle complaints about a wide range of NHS-funded services including dental services:

Email: syheartlandsicb.complaints@nhs.net
Telephone: 0300 561 2500

Post:
NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB
Block C, 1st Floor
Dukes Court
Woking
Surrey
GU21 5BH