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Code of Practice for patient complaints

Gumshields2Go take complaints very seriously and try to ensure that all our patients are pleased with their experience of our service.  When a patient complains, they are dealt with courteously and promptly so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible.  This procedure is based on these objectives.

Our aim is to react to complaints in the way in which we want our complaint about a service to be handled.  We learn from every mistake that we make and we respond to customers concerns in a caring and sensitive way.

  1. The person responsible for dealing with any complaint about the service that we provide is Dr CATHY ROBINSON, our complaints manager.
  2. If a patient complains on the telephone or in person, we will listen to their complaint and offer to refer them to our complaints manager immediately. If the complaints manager is not available at the time, then the patient will be told when they will be able to talk to the complaints manager and arrangements will be made for this to happen. The member of staff will take brief details of the complaint and pass them on.  If we cannot arrange a time within a reasonable period or if the patient does not want to discuss the matter, arrangements will be made for someone else to deal with it.
  3. If the patient complains in writing the letter will be passed on immediately to the complaints manager.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. We will seek to investigate the complaint within 10 working days of receipt to give an explanation of the circumstance 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. If we are unable to investigate the complaint within 10 working days we will notify the patient, giving reasons for the delay and a likely period within which the investigation will be completed.
  7. We will confirm our decision about the complaint in writing immediately after completing our investigation.
  8. Proper and comprehensive records are kept of any complaint received.

Dr Robinson can be contacted by emailing cathy@gumshields2go.com

Our Complaints Handling Policy 

We are committed to providing high quality care for all and will ensure that our patients and their representatives can seek advice, provide feedback or make a complaint about any aspect our service. This policy describes how we receive, manage, respond to and learn from complaints made about our service. All members of the team are expected to understand and follow this policy when dealing with a patient complaint.

The key aspects of this policy are that:

  • Our patients know how to complain and are confident that we will take their complaint seriously
  • We will investigate all complaints and will keep the patient informed of the findings of our investigation
  • We will learn from any complaints, concerns and feedback that we receive and use these lessons to improve our service.
Information for patients

We believe that if a patient wishes to make a complaint or register a concern about any aspect of our service, they should find it easy to do so. Our code of practice for handling complaints, encourages patients to let us know when our service has not met their expectations and explains how we will investigate their complaint and keep them informed.

Copies of our code are available on our website and are carried by our team at onsite visits. Please just ask.

Our approach to complaints

A complaint can be made by a patient of the practice or a person acting on their behalf if the patient is a child, has physical or mental incapacity, has consented to the person acting on their behalf, or has delegated authority to act on their behalf.  A complaint can also be made by an individual who is, or is likely to be, affected by our actions, inactions, decisions or omissions.

A complaint provides us with the opportunity to identify where our practice systems have failed and what we can do to improve our service. In dealing with a complaint, we will

  • Be open and transparent to ensure that all those involved understand the process and what to expect
  • Acknowledge a complaint promptly
  • Undertake evidence-based investigations
  • Provide sympathetic responses within appropriate timeframes
  • Identify the causes of complaints and act to prevent recurrence
  • Learn lessons and implement change
  • if the individual is a patient of the practice, ensure that their ongoing care is not adversely affected by the complaint.
Practice complaints process

Handling a complaint efficiently and sympathetically from the outset may encourage early resolution and avoid the need for a formal complaint process, involving investigation and formal reports. which is stressful and time-consuming for all concerned.

When making a complaint, an individual usually wants an apology and to know what happened and why, what will be done to put it right, what action will be taken immediately and to prevent the cause for complaint happening again.

Receiving complaints

All members of the team must be able to receive a complaint or feedback (verbal or written) and deal with it appropriately. You should bear in mind, that the individual making the complaint may not refer to their concern as a complaint.

The practice Complaints Manger, Dr Cathy Robinson is responsible for dealing with all complaints received by the practice, unless immediate resolution is possible.

Verbal complaints: Listen to what the individual is saying and be polite and considerate; avoid justifying the action that led to the complaint or being dismissive of the individual’s concerns. Where possible and, depending on the nature of the complaint, you should aim to resolve the matter as soon as it is received, making a note of the complaint and how you resolved it and pass the information to the Complaints Manager, Dr Cathy Robinson

If you are unable to resolve the complaint immediately, you should encourage the individual to speak with the Complaints Manager. If the Complaints Manager is not available, you should take brief details of the complaint and arrange a convenient time for the Complaints Manager to contact the individual. Your notes should be passed to the Complaints Manager and a copy given to the patient, together with a copy of the code of practice for handling patient complaints.

Written complaints: If you receive a written complaint (by letter or email.), you should pass it immediately to the Complaints Manager.

Acknowledgement

The Complaints Manager will acknowledge the complaint in writing within 3 working days and enclose a copy of our code of practice for handling complaints. If a delay in acknowledging the complaint is anticipated, the reason for the delay will be explained to the individual.

The acknowledgement will include

  • Confirmation that the matter will be investigated and that the individual will receive a report of the findings
  • An offer to meet with the individual to discuss the complaint and gather information
  • A description of how the complaint will be handles and who will be involved
  • Anticipated timescales for the investigation and preparation of the report
  • How the individual would like to be kept informed of progress
  • Local organisations that can provide help.
Investigation

The purpose of the investigation is to

  • Understand what the complaint is about
  • Establish what the individual would consider to be a satisfactory resolution
  • Seek the views of other team members and seek suggestions on how to resolve the matter
  • Identify other useful sources of information – for example, published research, suppliers

We aim for the investigation to be completed and for the individual to receive the report within 10 working days. Where we anticipate a delay, we will explain this to the individual and provide an update on progress at least every 10 working days.

Response

Before providing a written response, we will invite the individual to a meeting to discuss the findings of our investigation.

Our written response to the individual will

  • Address all the issues raised and demonstrate that each has been fully and fairly investigated
  • Include an apology where something has gone wrong
  • Explain our conclusions and any action that we have taken as a result or explain why no further action is needed
  • Include details of how to contact the NHS Ombudsman or the Dental Complaints Service if the individual remains dissatisfied

GENERAL DENTAL COUNCIL, 37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ  Tel: 02071676000

THE DENTAL COMPLAINTS SERVICE, Stephenson House, 2 Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon. CR0 6BA   Tel: 02082530800

Records

The Complaints Manager keeps full records of all complaints, investigations and responses. These records are kept securely and not with the individual’s clinical records (if they are a patient of the practice).  These records include:

  • The date a complaint was received, by who and how (verbally or in writing)
  • Details of the complaint and the results of the investigation
  • Copies of any communications and records of telephone conversations and meetings
  • The outcome of the complaint and any action that we took as a result
  • Correspondence between the patient and the practice.
Learning from complaints

We adopt a no-blame approach to complaints that we receive but recognise that all feedback provides an opportunity for us to develop and improve our service.

As soon as possible after a complaint has been dealt with, we will ensure that those involved are given individual feedback. Where our investigations identify a need to improve or review our practice systems, we will encourage general discussion at practice meetings and seek suggestions for improvement. Any agreed changes will be kept under review.

We will undertake ongoing monitoring of all complaints to identify trends and assess training requirements.