Complaints Procedure
Complaints Procedure
If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from The Gables Dental Practice, please let us know. We operate a practice complaints procedure as part of an NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria as laid down by the NHS.
How To Complain
We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly at the time they arise and directly with the person concerned, but if your problem cannot be resolved in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible, ideally within 2 weeks, in order that we can establish what has happened more easily. If it is not possible to do this, you can still provide us with details of the complaint within 12 months of the incident that is the cause of the problem or within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem.
We would ask that if you make a complaint on behalf of someone else you have all the information needed in order that we can investigate the matter fully and that the patient who the complaint relates to has provided documented consent for you to follow up on the matter on their behalf.
Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of patient medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to be assured that you have his/her permission to do so. A consent form will need to be signed by the patient concerned before we can disclose any information, unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.
What You Should Do
Complaints should be addressed to:
The Practice Manager
The Gables Dental Practice
332 Cherry Hinton Road
Cambridge, CB1 3UB
Tel: 01223 248202
Email: [email protected]
Alternatively you may ask for an appointment with the practice manager in order to discuss your concerns. The practice manager will explain the complaints procedure to you and will make sure your comments are dealt with promptly. It will be a great help if you can be as specific as possible about your complaint.
Our Commitment To You
We shall acknowledge your complaint within three working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within a time scale agreed with you. The time taken to investigate your complaint will depend on its complexity and the number of people involved. We shall then be in a position to offer you an explanation or a meeting if that is more appropriate. When we look into your complaint, we aim to:
- find out what happened
- make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned if this is your wish
- ensure the complaint is resolved to your satisfaction
- make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate
- identify what needs to be done to ensure the problem does not arise again.
Our principles are
- to get it right
- to be patient focused
- to be open and accountable
- to act fairly and proportionately
- to put things right
- to seek continuous improvement
Complaining To The NHS England
We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure to ensure it is resolved at the practice. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice.
This however does not affect your right to approach NHS England if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us or you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation.
In this instance you should contact:
NHS England,
PO Box 16738,
Redditch,
B97 9PT
Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [email protected]
NHS England can provide an independent conciliator who is experienced in helping people resolve differences in a constructive way.
For support and help regarding issues with other NHS organisations, The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) provides:
- Advice and support to patients, their families and carers
- Information on NHS services
- Listens to concerns, suggestions or queries
- Help to sort out problems quickly.
Should you would like to talk to someone in PALS, the telephone number for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Commissioning Group is 0800 279 2535.
If your complaint is not resolved by the practice it can be referred to the parliamentary and health service ombudsman. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman 0345 015 4033,www.ombudsman.org.uk or the GDC, 020 7009 2701, [email protected].