Complaints procedure
At PortmanDentex we pride ourselves on the high quality of care we provide our patients. Our aim is to look after you as we wish to be looked after ourselves. However, if you have any concerns or comments regarding your dental care, we will address these as a matter of priority. We welcome all feedback, both positive and negative, regarding all feedback as an opportunity to learn and improve our service in the future. We will not react unnecessarily defensively, and your confidentiality and access to our services will be protected.
- How do I complain?
- How can I raise my concern or feedback?
- Complaints leaflets and further information
- How will my complaint be handled?
- How will my regulated finance agreement complaint be handled?
- What do I do if I’m not satisfied with the complaints process?
- What do I do if I’m not satisfied with the outcome?
You can make a complaint directly to your dentist or any member of the practice team, either verbally or in writing.
Alternatively, you can contact independent bodies directly to raise your concerns. Contact information for these bodies can be found in our complaint’s leaflets. Depending on your circumstances they may ask that you complete our complaints process before they investigate your concerns.
Verbally and/or in person
A verbal complaint can be made in person or via telephone, the complaint will be immediately logged by the member of the team you talk to, and we will try and resolve your concerns at the time. If appropriate, the Practice Manager will discuss your complaint with you to try and resolve the situation. As all of our dentists operate as independent practitioners, any complaint concerning clinical care will be immediately passed to your treating clinician, who will respond to your concerns themselves.
If the clinician has left the practice, we will ask your consent before forwarding your complaint or concern on to them. Unfortunately, if you do not give this consent, we will not be able to respond or provide a resolution on the clinician’s behalf.
Written or Email
You can make a complaint in writing or via email for the attention of the Practice Manager or the dentist, and it will be handled as outlined below.
For a copy of our complaints leaflet which outlines our process and core principles, or for information of how to escalate your complaint should you wish to, please download our complaints leaflet for more information.
- An acknowledgement letter of your complaint will be sent to you within 3 working days. (2 working days if in Northern Ireland). This will explain the next steps in the process and who will respond to your complaint.
- If your complaint is about practice processes then it will normally be handled by the Practice Manager of the practice at which you were treated.
- If your complaint is about clinical care, it will be passed to your treating dentist so that they can respond to the complaint and resolve it.
- A full response will be provided to you within 20 working days. (10 working days if in Northern Ireland)
If we think there will be a delay in providing a full response, we’ll let you know, and from there we’ll keep you updated every 10 working days of the progress of your complaint until we are able to provide our full response.
The document below details how PortmanDentex handles complaints regarding regulated finance agreements.
If you are unhappy with the progress of your complaint, please get in touch at [email protected].
Please note that any complaints regarding your treatment will be forwarded to your dentists for their review.
Following the response to your concerns, should you remain unhappy, you can contact the relevant independent bodies directly. Contact information for these bodies can be found in our complaint’s leaflets.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you can escalate this to following independent bodies: