01282 692407
Mon - Fri
08:15 - 19:30
01282 692407
Mon - Fri
08:15 - 19:30
01282 692407
Mon - Fri
08:15 - 19:30
01282 692407
Mon - Fri
08:15 - 19:30
In this practice, we take complaints very seriously and strive to ensure that all our patients are pleased with their experience of our service. If you have a complaint, we will treat you courteously and promptly, aiming to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. We value your feedback and respond to your concerns in a caring and sensitive manner.
Complaints will be shared only with the staff involved, and only those who need to know will be provided with the full details. The themes of any complaints will be discussed in team meetings, allowing all members to learn from them and improve the service we provide.
Most problems can be sorted out quickly and easily, often at the time they arise with the person concerned and this may be the approach you try first.
Where you are not able to resolve your complaint in this way and wish to make a formal complaint you should do so, preferably in writing as soon as possible after the event and ideally within a few days, as this helps us to establish what happened more easily. In any event this should be:
If you are a registered patient of the practice you can complain about your own care. You are unable to complain about somebody else’s treatment without their written authority. See the separate section on this page.
Send your written complaint to:
Philip Eccles
Oakland Family Dental Practice,
72 Leeds Road,
Nelson,
BB9 9TD
We look to settle complaints as soon as possible.
We will acknowledge receipt within 3 working days, and aim to have looked into the matter within 10 working days. You may then receive a formal reply in writing, or you may be invited to meet the person (s) concerned to attempt to resolve the issue. If the matter is likely to take longer than this we will let you know, and keep you informed as the investigation progresses.
When looking into a complaint we attempt to see what happened and why, to see if there is something we can learn from this, and make it possible for you to discuss the issue with those involved if you would like to do so.
When the investigations are complete you complaint will be determined and the final response sent to you
Where your complaint involves more than one organisation (e.g. social services) we will liaise with that organisation so that you receive one coordinated reply. We may need your consent to do this. Where your complaint has been sent initially to an incorrect organisation, we may seek your consent to forward this to the correct person to deal with.
The final response letter will include details of the result of your complaint and also your right to escalate the matter further if you remain dissatisfied with the response.
We keep to the strict rules of medical and personal confidentiality. If you wish to make a complaint and are not the patient involved, we will require the written consent of the patient to confirm that they are unhappy with their treatment and that we can deal with someone else about it.
Please include the patient’s signed consent with your letter to enable the complaint to proceed.
Where the patient is incapable of providing consent due to illness or accident it may still be possible to deal with the complaint. Please provide the precise details of the circumstances which prevent this in your covering letter.
Please note that we are unable to discuss any issue relating to someone else without their express permission, which must be in writing, unless the circumstances above apply.
We may still need to correspond direct with the patient, or may be able to deal direct with the third party, and this depends on the wording of the authority provided.
You have a right to approach the Health Service Ombudsman. The contact details are:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Millbank
Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
Telephone: 0345 0154033
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk
You may also contact NHS England. The contact details are:
NHS England
PO Box 16738
Redditch
B97 9PT
Telephone: 0300 311 22 23
Email: England.contactus@nhs.net
Oakland Family Dental Practice © 2023. All Rights Reserved
Oakland Family Dental Practice © 2023.
All Rights Reserved
