Feedback & concerns

We try to ensure that all our patients are pleased with their experience of our services. However, if you are not satisfied and would like to make a complaint, we want to reassure you that your concerns will be dealt with promptly, so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible.

If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the dentists or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us know. We operate a practice complaints procedure, and our complaints system adheres to national criteria.

How to complain

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, please let us know as soon as possible — ideally within a matter of days, or at most a few weeks — because this will help us establish what happened. If that is not possible, please let us have details of your complaint:

• within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem; or
• within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the incident.

Complaints about the treatment you received should be made to the dentist who normally sees you. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with Mrs B Dutton to discuss your concerns. She will explain the complaints procedure to you and will ensure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. It will help if you are as clear as possible about your complaint.

You can contact the practice on 01691 652143 or by email at reception@willowstreetdental.co.uk.

What we shall do

1. We shall acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days.
2. We aim to have looked into your complaint within 10 working days of the date you raised it with us.
3. We shall then be in a position to give you an explanation, or offer a meeting with those involved.

In investigating your complaint, we shall aim to:

• find out what happened and what went wrong;
• enable you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this;
• ensure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate;
• identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable of providing this because of physical or mental illness, or are a child under 16 years.

Complaining to the Dental Complaints Service

We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will provide the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice. However, this does not affect your right to complain to the Dental Complaints Service if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us, or you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation.

Further advice can be obtained from the General Dental Council.