At West End Manse Dental Care Ltd we are committed to providing high-quality dental care to all our patients. We take feedback and complaints seriously and view them as an opportunity to learn, improve our services, and maintain trust and transparency with our patients.
We aim to handle all complaints courteously, efficiently, and promptly so that concerns can be resolved as quickly as possible. The person responsible for handling all complaints in the practice is Chandanpreet Kaur.
We hope that most issues can be resolved quickly and informally, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your concern cannot be resolved this way, or you would prefer to make a formal complaint, you may do so verbally, in writing, or by email.
If you make a complaint in person or by telephone:
Written and emailed complaints will be passed immediately to the Complaints Lead, who will acknowledge receipt within 3 working days of receiving your correspondence.
The practice follows the steps below when managing complaints:
Step 1 – Receipt of Complaint: The complaint will be received by a member of staff and passed to the Complaints Lead as soon as possible.
Step 2 – Acknowledgement: The complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days. The complainant will be informed who is handling the complaint and how they can be contacted.
Step 3 – Initial Assessment: The Complaints Lead will review the complaint, identify any immediate risks or concerns, determine whether further information is required and agree the scope of the investigation.
Step 4 – Investigation: Relevant records, documentation and staff accounts will be reviewed. Where appropriate, clinical advice may be sought. The complainant may be contacted if clarification or further information is required.
Step 5 – Progress Updates: If the investigation cannot be completed within 10 working days, the complainant will be informed of the reason for the delay and provided with regular updates until the complaint is concluded.
Step 6 – Outcome: The complainant will receive a written response outlining:
Step 7 – Escalation: If the complainant remains dissatisfied, they will be informed of the relevant external organisations available to review their concerns.
Step 8 – Learning and Improvement: The complaint will be reviewed through the practice governance process to identify trends, learning opportunities and service improvements.
We will make every effort to resolve your complaint within 10 working days of acknowledgment. If the investigation is likely to take longer (for example, where clinical advice is required), we will inform you of the reason for the delay and agree on an updated timescale with you. If your complaint involves clinical care or treatment, the matter will usually be referred to the treating dentist, unless you specifically request otherwise. Once our investigation is complete, we will contact you via your preferred method (letter, email, or telephone) to share our findings and any actions taken.
Where necessary, we may seek advice from our indemnity provider, insurer, or legal adviser to ensure a fair and compliant response. In such cases, only relevant information will be shared, and confidentiality will be maintained at all times. The Complaints Lead will keep the complainant informed throughout the process and provide progress updates at agreed intervals, particularly where investigations are ongoing or external advice is being sought.
Where a complaint is made about the Registered Manager, Practice Manager, or another member of the senior management team responsible for handling complaints, the practice will ensure the complaint is managed impartially and without conflict of interest.
In such circumstances:
We recognise that individuals have the right to raise concerns about how their personal data is collected, used, stored, or shared. Any complaint relating to data protection will be taken seriously and handled in accordance with UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 requirements.
How to Raise a Data Protection Complaint
Patients, staff, or other individuals may raise a data protection concern:
Handling Process
Outcomes and Actions
Where a data protection issue is identified, we will:
Individuals may raise concerns with the practice in the first instance; however, they also have the right to lodge a complaint directly with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at any time.
Website: https://www.ico.org.uk
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
We encourage individuals to raise concerns with us first so we can investigate and resolve the issue promptly.
All complaints are treated in the strictest confidence. Patient records will remain confidential, and
only those involved in investigating or resolving your complaint will have access to the necessary
information.
We ensure that patients receive information in formats they can understand and are provided with any communication support they need throughout the complaints process. We comply with the Equality Act 2010, and The Accessible Information Standards to ensure patients don’t receive any discrimination based on protected characteristics.
The practice will cooperate fully with any independent review, investigation or complaint assessment undertaken by an external organisation, regulator, commissioner, ombudsman, indemnity provider or complaints body.
This includes providing relevant records, documentation, statements and information where lawful and appropriate to do so. The practice will implement any recommendations arising from independent reviews where appropriate and will use findings to support service improvement.
We record all complaints centrally and regularly review them as part of our governance and quality improvement processes. This ensures we identify any trends, improve our services, and share learning across the team.
The practice will monitor the effectiveness of its complaints system by reviewing:
Findings will be discussed during governance meetings and used to improve patient experience, safety and quality of care. Where trends, recurring themes or significant concerns are identified, action plans will be developed, implemented and monitored to ensure improvements are made and sustain
Complaints should normally be made within 12 months of the incident or the date the issue came to your attention. However, we will always consider reasonable exceptions if there are valid reasons for the delay.
We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure first. We believe this gives us the best chance to put things right and improve our services. However, if you remain dissatisfied, you may contact one of the following independent bodies:
The CQC:
The CQC don't get directly involved with complaints made to the practice. They do, however, encourage giving feedback to service providers.
To send feedback to the CQC please go to: https://www.cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care
Telephone: 03000 616161 (Mon to Fri, 8.30am - 5.30pm Excluding Bank Holidays)
The NHS:
If you would rather not go directly to your practice, and your treatment is provided by the NHS, you can contact your local ICB, which is responsible for NHS dental services.
Complaints email: nwicb.complaintsservive@nhs.net
Phone: 08003896819
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm
Address: NHS Norfolk and Suffolk Intergrated Care Board, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich, NR1 2DH
The ICB can be contacted if you feel unable to raise your concerns with the practice. The ICB, however, cannot re-investigate the same complaints, and therefore, if you feel unhappy with how the practice or the ICB has handled a complaint, you should contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Telephone: 0345 015 4033
Website: https://www.ombudsman.org.uk
Private Patients:
The Dental Complaints Service handles complaints made by private patients.
Telephone: 0208 253 0800 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)
Website: https://dcs.gdc-uk.org/
The GDC
Website: https://contactus.gdc-uk.org/Complaint/Process/13
