Visage Dental
Complaints Procedure

Complaints Procedure

• The person responsible for dealing with any complaint about the service which we provide is Esther Hathorn, our Complaints Co-ordinator.
• If a patient complains on the telephone or at the reception desk, we will listen to their complaint and offer to refer him or her to the Complaints Co-ordinator immediately. In case the Complaints Co-ordinator is not available at the time, we will tell the patient when they will be able to talk to the dentist. Also, we will make arrangements for this to happen. Then, 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 if the patient does not wish to wait to discuss the matter, we will make arrangements for someone else to deal with it.
• If the patient complains in writing the letter or email, we will pass the message on immediately to the Complaints Manager.
• If a complaint is about any aspect of clinical care or associated charges, we will normally refer it to the clinician – 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 3 working days.
• We will seek to investigate the complaint within 10 working days of receipt. We will give an explanation of the circumstances, which led to the complaint. If the patient does not wish to meet us, then we will attempt to talk to them on the telephone. However, if we are unable to investigate the complaint within 10 working days, we will notify the patient. We will give reasons for the delay and a likely period within which we will complete the investigation.
• We will confirm the decision about the complaint in writing immediately after completing our investigation.
• We keep proper and comprehensive records of any complaint we have received.

If you’re not happy with the result of our procedure
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If patients are not satisfied with the result of our procedure, they may make a complaint to:

• The Dental Complaints Service, The Lansdowne Building, 2 Lansdowne Road, Croydon, Greater London CR9 2ER (Telephone: 08456 120 540) for complaints about private treatment
• The General Dental Council, 37 Wimpole Street, London, W1M 8DQ (Telephone: 0845 222 4141), the dentists’ regulatory body for complaints about professional misconduct