Complaints Policy and Procedure

Complaints Policy and Procedure

We try to ensure that all our patients are pleased with their experience of our services. We welcome feedback from patients and take any complaints seriously. We aim to deal with complaints courteously and efficiently so they can be resolved as quickly as possible.

Our complaints procedure outlines how we deal with any complaints.

The person responsible for dealing with any complaints is Ms Alishia Pickard.

How to Complain

We hope that most issues can be resolved easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your issues cannot be sorted out this way and you wish to make a complaint, you can do so verbally by speaking to one of our team members, who will direct you to our complaints lead, or you can write to us by letter or email.

Complaints Made Verbally

If you wish to make a complaint over the phone or in person, we will listen to your complaint and offer to refer you to our complaints lead. If they are unavailable, the staff member will take your details and a brief explanation of the complaint to pass on. Your complaint will be acknowledged within three working days.

Complaints Made via Email or Letter

Any letters or emails regarding a complaint will be immediately passed to our complaints lead. Your complaint will be acknowledged within three working days.

complaints@spacedental.co.uk / Complaints Manager, Space Dental, International House,

Wakefield, WF2 8EF

Investigations

We will contact you to discuss your complaint unless it can be resolved easily. Any complaints involving clinical care will be referred to the treating dentist unless you request this not to happen.

We will then investigate your complaint and will aim to have a response for you within ten working days. If it is not possible to resolve this within that timeframe, we will inform you and let you know when it is likely to be resolved.

Once we have made a decision regarding your complaint, we will inform you using your preferred contact method.

It is possible that if a complaint regards clinical care or is complex, we may need to seek advice from our insurers, indemnifiers or legal advisors and, therefore, may need to share some of your information for this purpose.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please note that we strictly adhere to the rules of clinical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we must know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed unless they are incapable (because of physical and mental illness) of providing this.

Time Limits for Opening Complaints

Complaints should be made within 12 months of the incident or when the complainant first discovered the problem.

Complaints to External Bodies

We hope you will use our practice complaints procedure if you have a concern. We believe this will give us the best chance of correcting whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice. However, this does not affect your right to complain to an external body if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us or are dissatisfied with our investigation’s result.

The CQC: The CQC don’t get involved with complaints about the practice. They do, however, encourage giving feedback on service providers.

To send feedback to the CQC please go to:https://www.cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care

Telephone: 03000 616161 (Mon to Fri, 8.30am – 5.30pm Excluding Bank Holidays)

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Telephone: 0345 015 4033

Website: https://www.ombudsman.org.uk

Private Patients: The Dental Complaints Service handles complaints made by private patients.

Telephone: 0208 253 0800 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)

Website: https://dcs.gdc-uk.org/

The GDC

Telephone: 0854 222 4141 or 0207 887 3800

Website: https://contactus.gdc-uk.org/Complaint/Process/13

The Financial Ombudsman Service

If you wish to make a complaint about the way you were sold finance, please contact our Complaints Manager Ms Alishia Pickard complaints@spacedental.co.uk / Complaints Manager, Space Dental, International House, Wakefield, WF2 8EF

Tel: 01924 565955

To assist them with your complaint please provide as much information as possible, including your name, contact information and claim number. We will consider a complaint closed when they have made their final response to you. This does not prevent you from exercising any rights you may have to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service. We will co-operate fully with the

Ombudsman in resolving any complaints made against us and agree to be bound by any awards made by the Ombudsman. The firm undertakes to pay promptly any fees levied by the Ombudsman.

Contact:

The Financial Ombudsman Service,
Exchange Tower,
London E14 9SR

Tel: 0800 023 4567 (free for most people ringing from a fixed line) or 0300 123 9123 (cheaper for those calling using a mobile) or 020 7964 0500 (if calling from abroad)

Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk