At the Wooding Dental Group we take complaints very seriously and try to ensure that all patients are pleased with their experience of our services. When patients complain, they are dealt with courteously and promptly so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible.
While we always hope to get things right, we recognise there may be times when we could have done better. We are receptive to patients’ feedback, concerns or complaints and try to use mistakes or shortfalls as an opportunity to improve our service. If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the dentist or any of the staff working at this practice, please let us know.
We operate a practice complaints procedure for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.
How to complain
We hope that most problems can be resolved quickly and easily, often at the time they arise, and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out this way and you wish to make a complaint, we will respond to your complaint within three working days, enabling us to establish what happened more easily. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem.
If a patient complains on the telephone or at the reception desk, we will listen to the complaint and offer to refer it to our Site Complaints Lead. 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, arrangements will be made for someone to deal with it.
If the patient complains in writing the letter will be passed on immediately to our Complaints Manager. If a complaint is about any aspect of clinical care or associated charges it will normally be referred to the dentist, unless the patient does not want this to happen.
What we will do
We shall acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to investigate your complaint within 30 working days of the date when you raised it with us. We shall then be in a position to offer you an explanation, or a meeting with the people involved.
When we investigate your complaint, we shall aim to:
– Find out what happened and what went wrong
– Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this
– Make sure you receive an apology where this is appropriate
– Identify what we can do to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.
Should a patient make a complaint or claim, we may need to provide information about the patient, and treatment they have received, to insurers, indemnifiers or legal advisers.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
Please note that we keep strictly 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.
Complaining to your local Health Board
We hope that if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure. 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 NHS Wales if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us, or you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation.
If you prefer not to deal with the practice directly, you can contact the complaints manager at your Health Board instead. You’ll find contact details on the web pages below:
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, The Concerns Team,
Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2PW
Tel: 01248 384194
Email:
bcu.complaintsteam@wales.nhs.uk
Full guidance on how to complain to the NHS is available to download from the Putting Things Right website:
www.puttingthingsright.wales.nhs.uk
