Ethicare Dental takes complaints very seriously and tries to ensure that all patients are pleased with our service. However, when a patient feels the need to complain, we expect our staff to be courteous and that the complaint is resolved as promptly as possible. This leaflet explains Ethicare Dental’s complaint procedure.
Our aim is to react to complaints in the manner in which we would want our own complaints 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 we provide is the Practice Manager. In their absence, a deputy will be appointed.
If a patient complains on the telephone or at the reception desk, we will listen to his or her complaint and if it cannot be resolved, we will ask them to put their complaint in writing.
When the patient complains in writing, the letter will be passed to the Practice Manager immediately.
If a complaint is about any respect of clinical care, it will normally be referred to the dentist concerned.
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 ten working days of the complaint being received to give an explanation of the circumstances which lead to the complaint. We will normally respond to the patient’s complaint in writing within ten working days. If we are unable to investigate the complaint within ten working days we will normally 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 to the patient immediately after completing our investigation.
Proper and comprehensive reports are kept of any complaint received.
If patients remain dissatisfied with the response to their complaint, they have the right to ask the Dental Complaints Service to review the case. This should be done within two months of receipt of the letter. Details are at dcs.gdc-uk.org, or call 08456 120 540 or contact The General Dental Council, 37 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 8DQ. The Dental Complaints Service is an independent service funded by the GDC.
