If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the dentists or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us know. We operate a practice complaints procedure. Our complaint system adheres to national criteria. How to make a Complaint We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible – ideally, within a matter of days or at most a few weeks – because this will enable us to establish what happened most easily. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem; or within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the incident. Complaints about the treatment you received should be made to the dentist who normally sees you. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with the Practice Manager in order to discuss your concerns. They will explain the complaints procedure to you and will ensure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. It will help if you are as clear as possible about your complaint. What We Will Do We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within 10 working days of the date when you raised it with us. We shall then be in a position to give you an explanation, or offer a meeting with those involved. In investigating your complaint, we shall aim to: Find out what happened and what went wrong. Enable you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this. Ensure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate. Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again. Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have the permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable of providing this because of physical or mental illness or are a child under 16 years. If you wish to take your complaint further We hope that, if you have a problem, you will make use of our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will provide the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice. However, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us or you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation and wish for further advice you could contact: PRIVATE COMPLAINTS Dental Complaints Service, The Lansdowne Building, 2 Lansdowne Road, Croydon CR9 2ER. Telephone 08456 120 540 Email info@dental complaints.org.uk NHS COMPLAINTS NHS England, PO BOX 16738, Redditch B97 9PT. Telephone 0300 3112 233 Email england.contactus@nhs.net