Policies

Patient confidentiality

At Redland Park Dental Surgery we take patient confidentiality extremely seriously and all personal information is treated in the strictest confidence. Only members of staff have access to patient information. All our patient records are securely stored at our practice to ensure that any patient information is only accessed as part of your treatment. No information will ever be released to a third party without your express permission or where required by law. 

We have a strict confidentiality policy. To see a copy of this policy or if you would like further information regarding your rights to view your patient records please contact reception.

Missed appointments

Missed appointments waste time and resources which are needed for other patients. Our practice policy, which follows NHS guidance, is that if, on more than one occasion, patients cancel with less than 24 hours notice or do not attend an appointment, then we will no longer be able to offer NHS treatment subject to the discretion of the treating dentist.  Patients will be notified of missed appointments and their consequences by letter or email. We will of course take any special circumstances into account. 

If you miss a Private appointment a charge will be made.  The charge will be at the discretion of the treating dentist and will take into account the length of the appointment and the treatment that would have taken place.  Patients will be notified of this in writing and again, special circumstances will be taken into account.

Complaints

We aim to make your experience at the practice as smooth, professional and high quality as possible.   However, should you have any complaints or comments these will be taken very seriously and will be dealt with courteously and promptly so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible. Our aim is to learn from our mistakes and to deal with the complaint to everyone’s satisfaction.

The following outlines the process:

• The person responsible for dealing with any complaint about the service which we provide is Aimee, Practice Administrator.

• If a patient complains on the telephone or at the reception desk, we will listen to their complaint and offer to refer them to Aimee immediately. If Aimee is not available at the time, then the patient will be told when they will be able to talk to her and arrangements will be made for this to happen. The member of staff will take brief details of the complaint and pass them on. If we cannot arrange this within a reasonable period or the patient does not wish to discuss the matter, arrangements will be made for someone else to deal with it.

• If the patient complains in writing, the letter will be passed on immediately to Aimee, Practice Administrator.

• If a complaint is about any aspect of clinical care or associated charges, it will normally be referred to the dentist, unless the patient does not want this to happen.

• We will acknowledge the patient’s complaint in writing and enclose a copy of this code of practice as soon as possible, normally within three working days. We will seek to investigate the complaint within ten working days. If this cannot be done we will notify the patient, giving reasons for the delay and a likely time period within which the investigation will be completed.

• We will confirm the decision about the complaint in writing immediately after completing our investigation.

• Proper and comprehensive records are kept of any complaint received.

If you are are not satisfied with the result of our procedure you can refer your complaint to the next level as follows:

For complaints about NHS treatment:

For complaints about Private treatment:

Payment Policy

Payment is due at the time of treatment and may be via cheque, card or cash.

Harassment of staff

Please treat our staff with the respect that you would expect from us. Harassment of our dental team will not be tolerated. Harassment includes but is not limited to violence, abuse or offensive language. Action may be taken by the practice owner against patients who harass the dental team. You may also be de-registered from the practice.