Appointment Info

Deposits

We make appointments with the expectation that you will attend at the agreed date & time to undergo your treatment. If you change your mind or work/other commitments prevent you from attending, we ask you to provide us with the required notice (see below) so that we can reallocate your appointment slot to another patient.

When booking your appointment, we will seek full payment and/or where appropriate a deposit from you, payment of which meets dental industry COVID guidelines and is also your confirmation of your commitment to attend your appointment. Our deposits are normally fully refundable providing sufficient notice of cancellation is given (see below) and will be set at the following levels:

Cancellation

If you are unable to attend your appointment for any reason, to avoid incurring fees it is important that you do inform us as soon as possible but no later than:

• 48 hours before the scheduled start time of your appointment

Please note that Saturdays & Sundays will not be included in these time frames so for example, notice to cancel an appointment requiring 48hrs notice scheduled for a Monday, must be given no later than the preceding Thursday. Public holidays are also not included in these time frames which you must take account of should you need to cancel and avoid a late payment fee. Providing you give notice of cancellation or postponement/amendment no later than this deadline, your deposit can be refunded to you on request. If you do not request a refund of your deposit, it will be held on your account and may be used against the cost of future treatment.

Non-Attendance (Includes late cancellation, request to re-schedule & late arrivals).

If you do not attend your appointment, cancel/re-schedule later than the deadlines shown above, or arrive late, we reserve the right to make a charge as follows:

This charge will be debited to your account with us. If you have not paid a deposit, settlement of this charge will be required before treatment can continue. Alternatively, where a swipe of your debit/credit card has been taken, this will be debited accordingly.

Late Arrival – Established patients

If you are an established patient and you arrive late for your appointment you will likely be asked to reschedule. However, this will be dependant upon what appointment time is left and whether we can accommodate you based on strict COVID safety policies. If we can and your appointment does go ahead, it is important to note that it is likely you will need to be re-booked to finish off what treatment remains. This will also meet with our stringent COVID policies for the benefit of each and every patient and their safety.

You will be charged for the full treatment time/cost allocated to you and the deposit made for the appointment will be lost. In addition to such time/costs and where such allocated time has been exceeded, all further clinical time we have had to wait and/or incur due to your late arrival may also be charged for. In this event, please be aware your account will automatically be charged and will reflect our payment terms and conditions. This also includes any failure to comply with pre-appointment instructions.

It is therefore important to arrive on time and in full compliance to all pre-appointment requirements.

We strive to see every patient as close to their appointment time as possible. However, this can only be achieved by arriving on time for your appointment.
One or two late patients cause the entire daily schedule to fall behind. This is an inconvenience to other patients who arrive on time. Please help us to help you by arriving on time.

Likewise, if you are a new patient, we are required to ensure your new patient registration including our stringent COVID policies are fully adhered to, completed and met before your appointment commences.  In order to ensure your appointment is not rescheduled, you must comply with the completion of all forms and pre-assessment questionnaires online or over the telephone. If you fail to do so your registration will not be complete and your appointment is likely to be re-scheduled. This applies to all subsequent appointments.

If your appointment does go ahead, it is important to note you may need to be re-booked to finish off what treatment remains. This will also meet with our stringent COVID policies for the benefit of each and every patient and their safety.

You will be charged for the full treatment time/cost allocated to you. In addition to such time/costs and where such allocated time has been exceeded, all further clinical time we have had to wait and/or incur due to your late arrival will also be charged for. In this event, please be aware your account will automatically be charged and will reflect our payment terms and conditions.

It is, therefore, important to arrive on time. We strive to see every patient as close to their appointment time as possible. However, this can only be achieved by arriving on time for your appointment.

One or two late patients cause the entire daily schedule to fall behind. This is an inconvenience to other patients who arrive on time. Please help us to help you by arriving on time.

Appointment Reminders

Please note that, although we send text and email message reminders (see below for scheduled reminders sent) before appointments are due, the successful delivery of these relies on our text & email provider, your mobile/email network provider, and your phone and therefore cannot be guaranteed. All reminders sent are logged internally on our server.

Email reminders are sent approximately:

• 1 week before your appointment
  3 days before your appointment

You should not rely on our text/email messages as the sole reminder of your appointment as we will not be responsible for any appointments missed as a result of non-delivery of the text/email message reminder, regardless of the reasons for its failure. Equally, appointment reminders are of goodwill and it is important to note that it is the patient responsibility to ensure they know when their appointment is and to ensure policies are adhered to in order for fees to be applied or deposits to be lost.

Policy Created July 2020

Updated October 2020

Debbie Mc Veigh

Practice Manager