Complaints Policy

1. Our Commitment

At The Perth Dental Centre, we are committed to providing a high standard of care and service to all our patients. We welcome feedback and take concerns and complaints seriously. If you are unhappy with any aspect of your care or experience with us, we want to know so that we can investigate the matter fairly, respond appropriately, and use the feedback to improve our services.

2. How to Raise a Complaint

Complaints should be directed to one of our Practice Managers:

You may raise a complaint:

• in person at the practice
• by telephone
• by email
• in writing by post

If you need help making a complaint, please let a member of our team know and we will do our best to assist you.

3. What Happens Next

We aim to handle complaints promptly, sensitively and fairly. When we receive a complaint, we will normally:

• acknowledge the complaint within 3 working days
• review the details of the concern and carry out an appropriate investigation
• keep a record of the complaint and the steps taken to address it
• provide a response as soon as reasonably possible, usually within 10 working days where feasible
• let you know if more time is required to complete our investigation

Where appropriate, we may contact you for further information to help us understand and investigate the matter fully.

4. Clinical Complaints

If your complaint relates to clinical care or treatment, it may be referred to the appropriate dentist or clinician for investigation, unless you request otherwise or this would not be appropriate in the circumstances.

5. Our Aim

Our aim is to:

• listen carefully to your concerns
• investigate your complaint fairly and promptly
• explain what has happened and, where appropriate, apologise
• identify whether any action is needed to improve our services or prevent the issue happening again

6. Confidentiality

Complaints will be handled with appropriate confidentiality and only shared with those who need to be involved in investigating and responding to the matter.

7. If You Are Not Satisfied

If you are not satisfied with the way your complaint has been handled, you may be able to refer the matter to an appropriate external organisation, depending on whether your treatment was NHS or private.

Private dental treatment

If your complaint relates to private dental treatment, you may contact:

Dental Complaints Service
Website: www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk
Telephone: 020 8253 0800

NHS dental treatment in Scotland

If your complaint relates to NHS dental treatment in Scotland, you may also be able to contact the relevant NHS complaints service or seek advice from your local NHS board or independent advice service.

Professional regulator

If your concern relates to a dental professional's fitness to practise, you may contact:

General Dental Council (GDC)
37 Wimpole Street
London
W1G 8DQ
Website: www.gdc-uk.org

8. Learning from Complaints

We view complaints as an opportunity to improve. We keep appropriate records of complaints and use feedback, where relevant, to review our procedures, training and service standards.

9. Contact Details

If you would like to make a complaint or discuss a concern, please contact one of our Practice Managers: