PRACTICE POLICY ON APPOINTMENTS
We value and respect our patients and strive to ensure that we meet your expectations. This code of practice describes how we manage our practice systems and communicate with you to achieve this.
All members of our team will
- Act in a way that justifies the trust that you place in us
- Provide you with a standard of care that we would expect to receive ourselves
- Provide advice and treatment outside normal surgery hours where necessary
- Stand by the promises we make
- Keep our professional skills and knowledge up to date
- Keep confidential any information that, as a patient of this practice, you provide
Practice systems – we will
- Manage our appointments system so that treatment appointments are booked no more than 6 weeks ahead.
- Ensure that patients should have to wait no longer than 5 minutes to be seen. Where there is a further delay we will explain the reasons.
- Remind patients of their appointment by phone or email (as preferred)
- Monitor our waiting times for (i) treatment and (ii) for booking appointments
- Provide as much notice as possible when appointments have to be changed or cancelled and explain the reasons.
- Let you know if there is a change in the dentist that you will see, and explain the reason for the change
Communicating with you – we will
- Be courteous, friendly and professional at all times
- Respond promptly to telephone calls – and we will never ask you to ‘hold’ without first finding out why you have called
- Make sure that you receive full information about our services and our policy for collecting fees, including the methods of payment that we accept
- Explain your treatment options and costs, answer your questions and allow you time to consider the best option for you
- Provide you with a treatment plan and estimate of costs for each new course of treatment. No treatment will be undertaken without your full and specific consent
- Provide urgent advice and care during practice hours as soon as is practicable. Outside normal surgery hours please leave a message on our answering machine with your contact details or e-mail to info@bhddc.com. For further details on out-of-hours arrangements please speak to the team.
- Refer you for further professional advice and treatment when appropriate
- Respond to correspondence within five days of receipt
- Encourage you to provide feedback – we will listen to your views and learn from them
- Make it easy for you to complain or raise a concern about any aspect of the care or service that you have received. Our procedure for dealing with complaints is available on our website bhddc.com.
And, we ask that you
- Participate in your dental treatment, particularly any advice about prevention and diet that we have asked you to continue at home.
- Arrive on time for your appointment. Please give the practice at least 48hours’ notice (2 working days excluding weekends and bank holidays) if you are unable to keep your appointment. We will charge for missed appointments where we have not been notified. This will be calculated at £80.00 per hour for general appointments and £180.00 per hour for appointments with a specialist. Deposit will be taken to secure your appointment. The deposit will be deducted from your bill for the relevant treatment at your next visit however, we reserve the right to retain your full deposit in case of a late cancellation or no show.
- Advise us of any changes to your contact details (address, telephone numbers, email) to help us keep our records up to date and ensure that we are able to contact you.
- Treat our staff courteously; they will do their best to help meet your needs
Date: 08/02/2024 Reviewed By: M Pallova
