Tg’s Dental Suite
Patient complaints procedure

Where the patient is not happy with the outcome, details of advice and advocacy support must be given to the patient.

All staff are made aware of any patient’s complaints/suggestions during regular staff meetings.

a. EARLS BARTON: earlsbarton@tgsdentalsuite.com, or 01604 810383 or by writing to or visiting the practice at Tg's Dental Suite, 15 The Square, Northants, NN60NA.

Rachel Algar is the Complaints Manager and will be your personal contact to assist you with any complaints. We aim to resolve verbal complaints within 24 hours where possible, but if you complain in writing the Complaints Manager will send an acknowledgement letter within 3 working days and will aim to provide a full response in writing as soon as practical.

b. Scraptoft: leicester@tgsdentalsuite.com, or 0116 276 0619 or by writing to or visiting the practice at Tg’s Dental Suite Scraptoft, 345 Scraptoft Lane, Scraptoft, Leicester, LE7 9SE.
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Karen McClelland is the Complaints Manager and will be your personal contact to assist you with any complaints. We aim to resolve verbal complaints within 24 hours where possible, but if you complain in writing the Complaints Manager will send an acknowledgement letter within 3 working days and will aim to provide a full response in writing as soon as practical.

c. ASHBY: ashby@tgsdentalsuite.com, or 01530415521 or by writing to or visiting the practice at Tg’s Dental Suite Ashby, 24South Street, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, LE65 1BR.

Lydia Bullock is the Complaints Manager and will be your personal contact to assist you with any complaints. We aim to resolve verbal complaints within 24 hours where possible, but if you complain in writing the Complaints Manager will send an acknowledgement letter within 3 working days and will aim to provide a full response in writing assoon as practical.

If the Complaints Manager is unavailable, we will take brief details about the complaint and will arrange for a meeting when when it is suitable for you and the practice.  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 Complaints Manager will contact you at least every ten working day to keep you informed of the reason for any delays, 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. We will make our response clear, addressing each of your concerns as best as we can. You will also be invited to a meeting to discuss the results and any practical solutions that we can offer to you. These solutions could include replacing treatment, refunding fees paid, referring you for specialist treatments or other solutions that meet your needs and resolve the complaint.

We regularly analyse patient complaints to learn from them and to improve our services. That’s why we always welcome your feedback, comments, suggestions and complaints. If you are dissatisfied with our response to a complaint you can take the matter further, please see the contacts below.

If you are dissatisfied with our response to a complaint you can contact the GDC private dental complaints service within 12 months of the treatment or within 12 months of becoming aware of the issue.

Please see the contact details below.

Verbal complaints (telephone or face-to-face)

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  Listen to the patient and, if you able to, try immediately to resolve the problem

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  If unable to resolve the problem or if the patient is asking to refer the matter immediately to Rachel Algar (Manager)

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  If the Manager is unavailable, inform the patient and make arrangements for the Manager to contact them

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  Record details of the complaint on the patient’s records and on the Patient Complaint Record form

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  Pass the Patient Complaint Record Form to the Manager with details of any agreed times which may be best for them to contact the patient. At the patients request a copy of the complaints record form will be given to the patient

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  If the patient is not happy or prepared to wait, then arrangements will be made for the patient to speak to a senior member of staff or dentist in the Managers absence

Written complaint (letter or email)

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  These need to be passed on immediately to the Manager to deal with and in her absence given to a senior member of staff

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  The practice must acknowledge the complaint in writing within 3 practice working days and also send a copy of Code of Practice for Patients Complaints
  

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  The patient complaint acknowledgement letter can be found on the SOE program by creating a letter through the patient’s clinical record
  

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  A full response with redress or details of action taken, where appropriate will be within 15 practice working days
  

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  If this is not possible we will notify the patient, giving reasons for the delay and the likely period that the investigation will be complete by
  

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  The full response may initially be given at a meeting or telephone call and confirmed in writing
  

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  The Patient Complaints Recording Form will be completed by the Manager and stored in the complaints folder along with any correspondence and details of implemented outcomes
  

Where the patient is not happy with the outcome, details of advice and advocacy support must be given to the patient.

All staff are made aware of any patient’s complaints/suggestions during regular staff meetings.

Contacts

For private dental treatment you can contact the GDC private dental complaints service within 12 months of the treatment or within 12 months of becoming aware of the issue by calling 020 8253 0800 or visiting www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk  

If you are still unhappy about your complaint, you can contact In England = the Parliamentary Health Ombudsman (England): by calling 0345 0154033 or visiting www.ombudsman.org.uk

You can also contact The CareQuality Commission (CQC) who regulates private and NHS dental care services in England by calling 03000 616161. They can take action against a service provider that is not meeting their standards.

The General Dental Council is responsible for regulating all dental professionals. You can complain using their online form at www.gdc-uk.org contact them on information@gdc-org.uk or by calling 020 7167 6000.