Code of Practice for Handling Patient Complaints
We want our service to meet your expectations. If you have a concern or complaint about any aspect of our service, we want to know what mistakes we made and identify how we can improve to ensure that we meet your expectations in future. Our aim is to learn from any feedback we receive and improve the service we provide to our patients.
We will deal with complaints courteously and promptly and aim to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
Making a complaint
If you wish to make a complaint or simply let us know how we could have done better, please contact Lindsey Bentall, our Complaints’ Manager on 01202 769174 or info@westbournedental.co.uk
We will offer to discuss the complaint with you directly and if this cannot be resolved we will ask you to put your complaint in writing. We will investigate your complaint promptly (for example, within 10 working days) or, if we require more time we will let you know how our investigation is progressing.
When we have completed our investigation, we will provide you with a full written report. We keep proper and comprehensive records of any complaints that we receive and the action we have taken following investigation. We review these records regularly to ensure that we recognise our mistakes and take every opportunity to improve our service.
If you are not satisfied
If your complaint was about your dental treatment and you are not satisfied with the result of our investigation, you can take up the matter with a relevant external organisation.
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For complaints about NHS treatment:
ENGLAND:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank London SW1P 4QP (0345 015 4033 or www.ombudsman.org.uk).
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For complaints about private treatment:
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Dental Complaints Service, 37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ
(020 8253 0800 or online at https://contactus.gdc-uk.org/dcs/Complaint/PrivatePatients).
01202 769174