Complaints Procedure
PATIENT COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
At Gransha Dental 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.
Complaints Procedure – This practice operates a complaints procedure as part of its dealing with patients’ complaints which complies with the HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE (2023) https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/health/doh-guidance-hsc-complaints-procedure.PDF and in compliance with The Independent Health Care Regulations(Northern Ireland)2005.
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.
Our practice Manager is responsible for investigating complaints and will be your personal contact to assist you with any complaints. If your verbal complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction within 24 hours or if you complain in writing, the Practice Manager will acknowledge it in writing within 3 working days and will aim to provide a full response in writing as soon as practical which is usually within 20 working days.
We will keep comprehensive and confidential records of your complaint, which will be stored securely and only be accessible only by those who need to know about your complaint.
If the complaint investigation takes longer than anticipated the Practice 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. If you are unhappy with our response to your complaint, we would encourage you to contact us again with any outstanding issues and we will investigate further and/or advise of options available to you.
Patients are asked that in the event of any complaint, to speak directly or write to the clinician concerned, or to the practice Manager Debbie via email pm@granshadental.com. Patients who require further advice regarding the complaints process should direct their enquiry to her who, when applicable, may recommend the services of an independent advocate ( e.g. The Patient and Client Council).
Patient Client Council
2nd Floor,
Centre House,
79 Chichester St,
Belfast BT1 4JE
Telephone : 0800 917 0222
Email: Complaints.pcc@hscni.net
If you remain unhappy you can refer your complaint to the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO):
NIPSO
Progressive House,
33-37 Wellington Pl,
Belfast.
BT1 6HN
Telephone: 0800 343424
Email: nipso@nipso.org.uk
NIPSO will look at your complaint and decide whether they should investigate it.
Complaints about private dental treatment, if not satisfied with the in house process, should be referred to:
Dental Complaints Service
37 Wimpole Street
London W1G 8DQ
Telephone: 02082530800
Email: contactus.gdc-uk.org
This procedure should be followed if you are complaining on behalf of someone else.
The rules of medical confidentiality will be adhered to if the complaint is received on behalf of someone else. A note signed by the person concerned will be required, unless they are incapable (e.g. because of illness) of providing this to allow the complaint to be investigated.
The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) is the independent body responsible for monitoring and inspecting the availability and quality of health and social care services in Northern Ireland, and encouraging improvements in the quality of those services. RQIA does not investigate complaints however, through their regulatory activities, they have an important role in ensuring all regulated services have an effective complaints procedure, take complaints seriously and investigate complaints thoroughly, in line with DoH complaints guidelines.
RQIA
James House, 2-4 Cromac Avenue, BELFAST, BT7 2JA
Telephone: 028 9536 1111 (9am – 5pm Mon to Fri)
Email: info@rqia.org.uk
Policy created July 2020
Policy updated June 2023
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:
| 15 MINUTE APPOINTMENT DEPOSIT/ MISSED FEE/LATE ARRIVAL |
£30.00 |
| 30 MINUTE APPOINTMENT DEPOSIT / MISSED FEE/LATE ARRIVAL |
£50.00 |
| 45 MINUTE APPOINTMENT DEPOSIT/ MISSED FEE/LATE ARRIVAL |
£80.00 |
| 60 MINUTE APPOINTMENT DEPOSIT/ MISSED FEE/ LATE ARRIVAL |
£100.00 |
| 180 MINUTE APPOINTMENT DEPOSIT/MISSED FEE/ LATE ARRIVAL |
£300.00 |
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:
| 15 MINUTE APPOINTMENT/ MISSED FEE |
£30.00 |
| 30 MINUTE APPOINTMENT / MISSED FEE |
£50.00 |
| 45 MINUTE APPOINTMENT/ MISSED FEE |
£60.00 |
| 60 MINUTE APPOINTMENT/ MISSED FEE |
£100.00 |
| 180 MINUTE APPOINTMENT /MISSED FEE |
£300.00 |
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