Patient Complaints Procedure

It is our aim to always have satisfied patients, to meet your expectations of care and service and to resolve any complaints as efficiently, effectively and politely as possible.

We take complaints very seriously, investigate them in a full and fair way and take great care to protect your confidentiality. We learn from complaints to improve our care and service. We will never discriminate against patients who have made a complaint, and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have about this procedure.

If you are not entirely satisfied with any aspect of our care or service, please let us know as soon as possible to allow us to address your concerns promptly. We accept complaints made verbally as well as written complaints. If you do not feel you can raise a complaint about your NHS service directly with us, you can address your complaint directly to:

NHS England at england.contactus@nhs.net with ‘For the attention of the complaints team in the subject line.

Katy McAllister is the Complaints Manager and will be your personal contact to assist you with any complaints. We aim to resolve verbal complaints within 24 hours where possible, but if you complain in writing, the Complaints Manager will send an acknowledgement letter within 3 working days and will aim to provide a full response in writing as soon as practical.

You can send your complaints to Lighthouse Dental Practice, 27 High Street, Ipswich, IP1 3QH. Call us on 01473 257 379 or email the Complaints Manager on practicemanager@lighthousedentalpractice.co.uk.

If the Complaints Manager is unavailable, we will take brief details about the complaint and will arrange for a meeting when it is suitable for you and the practice. We will keep comprehensive and confidential records of your complaint, which will be stored securely and only be accessible to those who need to know about your complaint. If the complaint investigation takes longer than anticipated, the Complaints Manager will contact you at least every ten working days to keep you informed of the reason for any delays, the progress of the investigation and the proposed date it will be completed.

When the investigation has been completed, you will be informed of its outcome in writing. We will make our response clear, addressing each of your concerns as best as we can. You will also be invited to a meeting to discuss the results and any practical solutions that we can offer to you. These solutions could include replacing treatment, refunding fees paid, referring you for specialist treatments or other solutions that meet your needs and resolve the complaint.

We regularly analyse patient complaints to learn from them and to improve our services. That’s why we always welcome your feedback, comments, suggestions and complaints. If you are dissatisfied with our response to a complaint, you can take the matter further; please see the contacts below.

If you are dissatisfied with our response to a complaint, you can contact the GDC private dental complaints service within 12 months of the treatment or within 12 months of becoming aware of the issue. Please see the contact details below.

Contacts

GDC private dental complaints service can be contacted by calling 020 8253 0800 or visiting dcs.gdc-uk.org/.

If you are still unhappy about your NHS complaint, you can contact:

The Parliamentary Health Ombudsman (England): by calling 03450 154 033 or visiting www.ombudsman.org.uk.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates private and NHS dental care services in England by calling 03000 616 161. They can take action against a service provider that is not meeting their standards.

The General Dental Council is responsible for regulating all dental professionals. You can complain using their online form at www.gdc-uk.org. Contact them at information@gdc-org.uk or by calling 020 7167 6000.