Complaints Policy for Patients
At Inchvannie House Dental Practice, our aim is to give the best possible care and treatment to our patients. We welcome feedback and comments about our services and aim to deal with any concerns or complaints promptly, courteously, and efficiently. We take steps to make patients aware of how they can give feedback or make a complaint and where they can obtain support for making a complaint. We consider all feedback, comments, concerns, and complaints as a positive way of looking at what we do and making changes to improve our service to patients. If we cannot resolve matters in the way you want, we will explain why it is not possible to do as you suggest. All views, even those that are anonymous, will be taken seriously, and our procedures are in line with the NHS Scotland Complaints Procedure.
We want you to let us know if something is important to you, such as:
- What do you think about the care and treatment you have received.
- Whether you have any concerns, e.g., about your appointment times or the facilities at the practice.
- If you have any suggestions to help us improve things.
- If you don’t understand something and need more information about our services.
How do I lodge a complaint?
- If you can, please first talk to a member of staff involved with your care. We will try to sort out the complaint on the spot.
- You can also talk to any member of staff, either in person or by phone.
- We encourage you to send us a written complaint with detailed information via email to Taniya Bazil (Practice Manager) at dingwall.mgr@agdp.co.uk
- When making your complaint, please give:
Your full name and address*
The full name, address, and date of birth of the patient if you are complaining on behalf of someone else.
As much helpful information as possible about what happened, where it happened, and when, and what you would like to have done about it;
Your preferred method of communication; and permission from the patient, if you are making the complaint on behalf of the patient.
We will use the information you give us to improve the services we provide.
*You can make an anonymous complaint, but this is likely to limit the ability of the practice to resolve it.
Complaints about NHS treatment
You can make a complaint about:
- NHS care or treatment you have had or are having at the practice.
- Our services or facilities.
- A member of staff.
- How services in the local area are organised if this has affected your care or treatment.
It is not possible to list everything you can complain about. If you want to complain about something not listed above, we encourage you to do so.
You cannot use this complaint procedure:
- If you have commenced legal proceedings about the issue you want to complain about. We will we always offer to resolve your complaint through this complaint procedure before legal action commences.
- To request a second opinion in respect of care or treatment
- For a previously concluded complaint or a request to have a complaint reconsidered where we have already given our final decision.
- A complaint that is being or has been investigated by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO)
It is not possible to list everything you cannot complain about. If other procedures can help you resolve your concerns, we will provide information and advice to help you.
Time limits:
Normally, you must make your complaint within 6 months of:
- the event you want to complain about; or
- finding out that you have a reason to complain, but no longer than 12 months after the event.
Responsibilities
Our feedback and complaints officer is Navin Aziz, who is responsible for seeing complaints through to resolution.
If it has been more than 30 days since you first contacted us and haven’t heard back from us, you can escalate the issue by forwarding your complaint to Navin directly at md@agdp.co.uk. If you don’t want to complain to anyone in the practice, you can further escalate by contacting the Patient Advice and Support Service or the NHS Grampian Health Board Feedback and Complaints Team at gram.nhsgrampianfeedback@nhs.scot or by phone at 0345 337 6338.
Confidentiality
- We will keep the information about your complaint confidential. We may have to talk to other NHS staff or show them your dental record. If you do not want us to share information from your dental record, please tell us when you make your complaint, but bear in mind that this may make it more difficult to look into your complaint.
- We will keep a record of your details and the complaint and use it to help improve our services, and for statistical purposes.