We hope that most issues can be sorted out easily and quickly at the time they arise with the person concerned. If the issue cannot be sorted in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible, ideally within a matter of days or at most a few weeks so we can establish what happened quickly and easily. If it is not possible to do that please let us have details of your complaint:

• Within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem or

• Within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem providing this is within 12 months of the incident

Your complaint should be made to the dentist who normally sees you. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with Dr Bernard Mayston or other member of staff to discuss your concerns. We will explain the complaint procedure to you and will ensure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. Please provide as much detail as possible to help us carry out a thorough investigation.

Our responsibility will be to:

• Acknowledge the formal complaint verbally or in writing

• Respond within a stated period of time (usually within 10 days)

• Deal reasonably and sensitively with the complaint

• Investigate to find out what happened and what went wrong

• Identify what we can do to make sure the issue doesn’t happen again

• Ensure you receive an apology where this is appropriate

Complainant’s responsibility is to:

• Bring their complaint, in writing, to our attention as soon as possible

• Raise concerns promptly and directly with a member of staff

• Explain the problem as clearly and as fully as possible, including any action taken by us to date

• Allow a reasonable time to deal with the matter

• Recognise that some circumstances may be beyond our control