Complaints Policy

Complaints Policy and Procedure

We try to ensure that all our patients are pleased with their experience of our services. We welcome feedback from patients and take any complaints seriously. We aim to deal with any complaints courteously and efficiently so that they can be resolved as quickly as possible. 

Our complaints procedure outlines how we deal with any complaints. 

The person responsible for dealing with any complaints in the practice is Joanna Richards. 

How to Complain 

We hope that most issues can be resolved easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your issues cannot be sorted out this way and you wish to make a complaint, you can do so verbally by speaking to one of our team members, who will direct you to our complaints lead, or you can write to us by letter or email. 

Merrystead Dental, 147 Hampton Lane, Blackfield, Southampton, SO45 1WE

merrystead@gmail.com

Complaints Made Verbally 

If you wish to make a complaint over the phone or in person, we will listen to your complaint and offer to refer you to our complaints lead. If they are unavailable, the staff member will take your details and a brief explanation of the complaint to pass on. Your complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days. 

Complaints Made via Email or Letter 

Any letters or emails regarding a complaint will be immediately passed to our complaints lead. Your complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days. 

Investigations 

We will contact you to discuss your complaint unless it can be resolved easily. Any complaints involving clinical care will be referred to the treating dentist unless you request this not to happen. 

We will then investigate your complaint and will aim to have a response for you within 10 working days. If it is not possible to resolve this within that timeframe, we will inform you and let you know when it is likely to be resolved.  

Once we have made a decision regarding your complaint we will inform you by your preferred contact method. 

It is possible that if a complaint regards clinical care or is complex, we may need to seek advice from our insurers, indemnifiers or legal advisors and, therefore, may need to share some of your information for this purpose. 

Complaining on behalf of someone else 

Please note that we strictly adhere to the rules of clinical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we must know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed unless they are incapable (because of physical and mental illness) of providing this. 

Time Limits for Opening Complaints 

Complaints should be made within 12 months of the incident or when the complainant first discovered the problem. 

Complaints related to credit facilities provided 

Merrystead Dental promise to always act in good faith with our patients best interest at the centre of all we do. However, we appreciate that sometimes we may not meet the standards to expect. 

If you have a complaint that relates to the provision of credit facilities provided this can be done either by phoning the practice  or in writing by letter or email.  If you wish to make a complaint over the phone or in person, we will listen to your complaint and offer to refer you to our complaints lead. If they are unavailable, the staff member will take your details and a brief explanation of the complaint to pass on. Your complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days. 

Any letters or emails regarding a complaint will be immediately passed to our complaints lead. Your complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days. In some circumstances we may need to investigate your complaint before we are able to offer a resolution. In this instance we will endeavour to do this as quickly as possible. In normal circumstances we aim to address your complaint within 14 days of receipt or provide an explanation for the delay.  

Complaints to External Bodies 

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

The CQC: The CQC don't get involved with complaints made to the practice. They do, however, encourage giving feedback on service providers. 

To send feedback to the CQC please go to: https://www.cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care

Telephone: 03000 616161 (Mon to Fri, 8.30am - 5.30pm Excluding Bank Holidays) 

The NHS: If you would rather not go directly to your practice and your treatment is provided by the NHS, you can contact your local ICB, which is responsible for NHS dental services. 

Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB 

If you feel unable to raise your concerns with the practice, you can contact the ICB. However, the ICB cannot re-investigate complaints already made to the practice, so if you feel unhappy with how the practice or the ICB has handled a complaint, you should contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. 

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman 

Telephone: 0345 015 4033 Website: https://www.ombudsman.org.uk 

Private Patients: The Dental Complaints Service handles complaints made by private patients

Telephone: 0208 253 0800 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm) 

Website: https://dcs.gdc-uk.org/ 

The GDC 

Telephone: 0854 222 4141 or 0207 887 3800 

Website: https://contactus.gdc-uk.org/Complaint/Process/13  Complaints Policy and Procedure