If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the dentists or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us know. We operate a practice complaints procedure. Our complaint system adheres to national criteria.

Kempston Dental Practice takes complaints very seriously and try to ensure that all our patients are pleased with their experience of our service. When patients complain, they are dealt with courteously and promptly so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible. This procedure is based on these objectives.

Our aim is to react to complaints in the way in which we would want our complaint about a service to be handled. We learn from every mistake that we make and we respond to customers’ concerns in a caring and sensitive way.

Kempston Dental Practice complaints lead are responsible for dealing with any complaints about the service.

You can direct complaints to any of our complaint leads:

• Practice Manager: Kathy Fraser;
• Dr Uma Madhav.
• If a patient wants to complain over the telephone or at the front of house, we will listen to their complaint and offer to refer him or her to the Practice Manager immediately. If the Practice Manager is not available at the time, then the patient will be told when they will be able to talk to the dentist and arrangements will be made. The member of staff will take brief details of the complaint and pass them on. If we cannot arrange this within a reasonable period or if the patient does not wish to wait to discuss the matter, arrangements will be made for someone else to deal with it.
• If the patient wants to complain via email, please email [email protected] or if so in writing then this will be passed on immediately to the Practice Manager, Dr Uma Madhav.
• If a complaint is about any aspect of clinical care or associated charges it will normally be then referred to the dentist, unless the patient does not want this to happen.
• We will acknowledge the patient’s complaint in writing normally within 3 working days.
• We will seek to investigate the complaint within 10 working days of receipt to give an explanation of the circumstances which led to the complaint.
• If we are unable to investigate the complaint within 10 working days we will notify the patient, giving reasons for the delay and a likely period within which the investigation will be completed.
• We will confirm the decision about the complaint in writing/email immediately after completing our investigation.
• Proper and comprehensive records are kept of any complaint received in our Complaints File.

Complaining to Dental Complaints Service:

We hope that, if you have a problem, you will make use of our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will provide the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice. However this does not affect your right to complain to the Dental Complaints Service, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us or you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation. If you wish further advice you should contact:

Dental Complaints Service
Stephenson House
2 Cherry Orchard Road
Croydon
CR0 6BA
Telephone: 020 8253 0800
(Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm)

OR

NHS treatment:
[email protected]
0300 311 22 33

OR

General Dental Council
37 Wimpole Street
London
W1G 8DQ
Email: www.gdc-uk.org
Telephone: 0845 222 4141 or 020 7887 3800

OR

The Care Quality Commission
CQC National Customer Service Centre
Citygate Gallowgate
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 4PA
CQC regulate all primary dental care service, both NHS and Private.

Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have the permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless that are incapable of providing this because of physical or mental illness or are a child under 16 years.

Kempston Dental Practice
Updated June 2021