Patient Complaints Procedure

Milton Keynes Dental Clinic, 251 Queensway, Bletchley, MK2 2EH

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.

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. We will never discriminate against patients who have made a complaint. Please address all complaints to the Practice Manager, Carolyn Flawn. If we cannot resolve your complaint immediately it will be acknowledged in writing within 3 working days and we aim to provide a full response in writing as soon as practical.

If the Practice Manager is unavailable, we will take brief details about the complaint and let you know when you can talk to a suitable team member as soon as possible. We will keep comprehensive and confidential records of your complaint, which will be stored securely. Only those persons who need to know about your complaint are informed about it and can access it.

Should the complaint need to be investigated, this may involve the person who treated you, members of the team or others. In some cased the investigation may take longer than 10 working days, in which case you will be informed about 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 and 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 it further, please see the contacts below.

Contacts

For NHS treatment you can make a complaint to the commissioner of NHS services. NHS England can be contacted at england.contactus@nhs.net.
If you are still unhappy about your NHS complaint, you can contact the Parliamentary Health Ombudsman: please call 0345 015 4033 or visit www.ombudsman.org.uk.

For private dental treatment you can contact the GDC private dental complaints service by calling 0845 612 0540 or visiting www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk.

You can contact the Care Quality Commission by calling 03000 61 61 61 or visit www.CQC.org.uk.

The General Dental Council is responsible for regulating all dental professionals, you can contact them on information@GDC-org.uk or by calling 0845 222 4141.

For further advice you can contact the British Dental Health Foundation helpline on 0845 063 1188.