PRACTICE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE 

We always try to give the best service possible, but there may be times when you feel this has not happened. This leaflet explains what to do if you have a complaint about the service you have received from the dentist or any member of staff working in the practice. We operate a Practice Complaints Procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints and our procedure meets the national criteria.

HOW TO COMPLAIN

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. We are more than willing to provide time to discuss your complaint face to face if you feel that this is appropriate. However, if your problem cannot be sorted out 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 the most a few weeks – because this will allow us to establish what happened more easily. If it is not possible to do this, 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 that this is within 12 months of the incident.

Complaints should be addressed to Mr C Anderson. He will make sure that your concerns are dealt with properly, to enable him to do this please be as specific as possible about your complaint.

WHAT WE WILL DO

We will acknowledge your complaint within two working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within ten working days of the date you raised it with us. We will then be in a position to offer you an explanation or a meeting with the people involved. When we look into your complaint we will aim to:

• Find out what happened and went wrong

• Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned

• Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate

• Identify what we can do to make sure that the problem does not happen again

COMPLAINING ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of data protection. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed.

COMPLAINING TO THE HEALTH AUTHORITY

We hope that if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right what has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice. You can also contact:

NHS England, PO Box 16738, Redditch B97 9PT (email: England.contactus@nhs.net); or

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank London SW1P 4QP (0345 015 4033 or www.ombudsman.org.uk).

www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk).

For complaints about private treatment:

Dental Complaints Service, Stephenson House, 2 Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon CR0 6BA (Telephone: 08456 120 540) 

General Dental Council, 37 Wimpole Street, London, W1M 8DQ 

 Policy Date Approved: November 2018 Reviewed annually

C ANDERSON Dental Practice Publication Scheme

This is a guide to the Publication Scheme for C Anderson Dental Practice as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Part One: Introduction and Background

1. Introduction

Welcome to the Publication Scheme for Mr C Anderson

This Publication Scheme is a complete guide to the information routinely made available to the public by our dental practice as required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. It is a description of the information about our Dental Practitioners and Practice which we make publicly available. The Publication Scheme will be reviewed at regular intervals and we will monitor its effectiveness.

2. Your rights to information

a) The Freedom of Information Act 2000 recognises that members of the public have the right to know how public services are organised and run, how much they cost and how the decisions are made.

b) From January 1st 2005 it will oblige the Dental Practice to respond to requests about information that it holds and is recorded in any format and it will create a right of access to that information. These rights are subject to some exemptions which have to be taken into consideration before deciding what information it can release.

c) In addition to accessing the information identified in the Publication Scheme, you are entitled to request information about C Anderson Dental Practice under the NHS Openness Code 1995.

d) Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you are also entitled to access your dental records or any other personal information held about you by applying in writing to:

Mr C Anderson

10 Church Street

Rastrick, Brighouse

HD6 3NF

e) New environmental information regulations may be introduced as early as 2003. These will enable similar access to environmental information as under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

3. How is the information made available?

The information within each Class is either downloadable from the practice website www.chrisandersondentalsurgeon.com or is available in hard copy. You can obtain a hard copy of the information referred to in this publication scheme, by writing to:

Mr C Anderson

10 Church Street,

Rastrick,

Brighouse,

HD6 3NF

4. How much will the publications cost?

The publications are all free unless otherwise indicated within the class (see below). Where information is provided at a cost, the charges will be calculated as set out in Class 7 below.

5. Feedback

If you have any comments about the operation of the Publication Scheme, or how we have dealt with your request for information from the Scheme, please write to:

Practice Manager

Dental Practice

10 Church Street,

Rastrick,

Brighouse,

HD6 3NF

01484 721157

Part Two: Classes of Information

All information at the Mr C Anderson Dental Practice is held, retained and destroyed in accordance with NHS guidelines.

Exemptions

Our commitment to publish information excludes any information which can be legitimately withheld under the exemptions set out in the NHS Openness Code or Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Where individual Classes are subject to exemptions, the main reasons are e.g. the protection of commercial interests and personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998. This applies to all Classes within the Publication Scheme.

The information on this Scheme is grouped into the following broad categories:

1. Who we are

Description: Details of the practice, organisational structures, key personnel and how we fit into the NHS

2. Our Services

Description: The range of services we provide under contract to the NHS

3. Financial and funding information

Description: Funding details and charging policies

4. Regular publications and information for the public

Description: Guidance and information leaflets

5. Complaints

Description: Policies, procedures and contacts for complaints

6. Our policies and procedures

Description: General policies and procedures in use within the practice. These include, but are not restricted to, data protection, prescribing and prescription, health and safety

7. This Publication Scheme

Description: In this class we will publish any changes we make to this Publication Scheme, the criteria on which our information management policies are made and a referral point for all enquires regarding information management generally in the practice. We will also publish any proposed changes or additions to publications already available.

.

This Publication Scheme

Cost of Information

Most of the information is available free, but there may be a nominal charge to cover costs if you require a hard copy of information.

The charges will vary according to how the information is made available.

Charges as follows:

a) Website – Free of charge via the [Dental Practice/Primary Care Trust] website

Website addresses are: www.chrisandersondentalsurgeon.com

www.calderdale-pct.nhs.uk

Note: Any charges for Internet Service provider and personal printing costs would have to be met by the individual.

b) Single Print Out - If you do not have internet access, a single print-out as on the website can be obtained by applying in writing to:

Practice Manager

10 Church Street 

Rastrick

Brighouse

HD6 3NF

[The practice charges 20 pence per sheet and the cost of postage]

c) Multiple copies or archived copies - of documents which are no longer available on the web, will attract a charge for the retrieval, photocopy, postage etc. We will let you know the cost and charges that will have to be paid in advance.

Please note: We will not provide printouts of other organisation’s websites.

d) Leaflets and brochures -Leaflets or booklets on, for example, the services we offer to the public are free of charge for single copies. (see item c above for multiple copies). [A list is available from]

The charges will be reviewed regularly.

Part 3: Useful Resources

Websites:

Information Commissioner website. www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Lord Chancellor website www.lcd.gov.uk

NHS Freedom of Information websitewww.nhs.foi.uk

Calderdale Primary Care Trust website www.calderdale-pct.nhs.uk

Publications

• NHS Openness Code www.doh.gov.uk/nhsexec/codemain.htm

• FOI Act 2000 www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts2000/2000036.htm

• Code of Practice under Section 45 FOI Act 2000 www.lcd.gov.uk

• Code of Practice under Section 46 FOI Act 2000 www.lcd.gov.uk

Copyright

Material available through this Publication Scheme is subject to the Dental Practice’s copyright unless otherwise indicated. Unless expressly indicated to the contrary, it may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium provided it is done so accurately in a manner which will not mislead. Where items are re-published or copied to others, you must identify the source and acknowledge copyright status. This permit does not extend to third party material, accessed through the scheme. For HMSO Guidance Notes see WWW.hmso.gov.uk/guides.htm

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