Complaints Policy

We try to ensure that all of our patients are pleased with their experience here at Oak Lodge Dental Practice and we take any concerns that a patient may have very seriously.

If you have a concern regarding any aspect of your care, please let us know immediately and we will endeavour to resolve it to your satisfaction.

Any verbal complaints should be conducted to a member of staff at the time, or to the Practice Manager, Mrs Caroline Chester.

Any written complaints should be addressed to:

Dr David Mahani
Oak Lodge Dental Practice
Hailsham Road
Heathfield
East Sussex
TN21 8AE

Email: oaklodge.dentalcare@nhs.net

All complaints will be acknowledged within three working days and responded to in due course.

We will investigate the circumstances surrounding your complaint, being respectful, courteous and transparent with you throughout. We will provide a written response to your complaint as soon as we have completed our investigation.

The Practice endeavours to resolve matters quickly and efficiently and to the satisfaction of all involved. This is known as ‘local resolution’. However, if you remain dissatisfied with our response and our efforts at local resolution, you can move to the second stage of the complaints process, as below. There are different routes, depending on whether your issue relates to NHS or private treatment.

For NHS treatment, the second stage of the complaints process if you are not satisfied with our local resolution, is to ask the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to review your complaint. We are advised that this should be done within six months of the either the date of your complaint, or of the end of the local resolution process, whichever is later. Once you have contacted the PHSO, you will be asked to explain what issues you believe have not been addressed by the practice and why you are dissatisfied with the local response.

You can contact the PHSO on 0345 015 4033 or write to them at:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP

Or by email at: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk

We do recommend that you contact us in the first instance to raise your issue or complaint, however if you feel you would rather not approach us directly, you can raise your complaint with the local integrated care board who are responsible for NHS dental services:

NHS Sussex
Wicker House, High Street, Worthing BN11 1DJ
Tel: 0800 433 4545
Email: sxicb.contactus@nhs.net

For private treatment, if you are not satisfied with our local resolution, you can approach one of the following bodies to review your complaint.

Dental Complaints Service
37 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 8DQ
Telephone: 0208 253 0800

Care Quality Commission
Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4PA
Website: www.cqc.org.uk
Email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk
Tel: 03000 616161

The Regulatory body for complaints about professional misconduct is:
The General Dental Council
37 Wimpole Street, London, W1M 8DQ
Tel: 0845 222 4141

Additional help:
Your local Healthwatch team can help you find independent NHS complaints advocacy services in your area if required.
Healthwatch East Sussex
0333 101 4007
enquiries@healthwatcheastsussex.co.uk

If you would like a copy of this Complaints Process (printed or sent via email), please ask a member of staff.