Practice Policy

Our practice is committed to providing the best treatment to our patients, but due to an increase in the number of patients failing to attend appointments and treatment not being paid for we kindly ask for full payment at point of booking for treatment. 

A non-refundable deposit of £50 is taken when booking your private appointment. The deposit is used towards your final treatment fee but cannot be refunded if you fail to attend your appointment. Denplan patients do not need to pay the £50 deposit when booking their twice-yearly examinations but would need to pay the deposit when booking further treatment.

For NHS patients we are kindly asking that any treatment which falls under Band 2 or Band 3 is paid for in full at the time of booking the treatment appointment. 

We accept cash, debit card and credit card. Please note we are unable to accept American Express and cheques.

Please let reception know if you need a downstairs surgery with step free access

Falsgrave Dental Surgery aim to always have satisfied patients. We understand that circumstances can prevent patients arriving to their appointment on time.

It is at the dentist’s discretion as to whether you will be seen if you arrive late to your appointment. Please be aware that you could be waiting anywhere up to an hour if you choose to wait when you arrive, and your appointment time has already passed.

The dentist will endeavour to see you as soon as possible. If patients are booked in for treatment they may be asked to rebook as the dentist needs the full amount of time to complete the treatment. Health professionals are required to share information about missed appointments and repeated cancellations for the benefit and safeguarding of children. Other people we may inform of any concerns include the child’s family doctor (GP), school nurse, health visitor and/ or the dentist (or other professional) who referred you to us.

Every year we lose valuable surgery time because of patients failing to attend their appointments or cancelling at short notice. This makes it more difficult for us to accommodate our patients in need of urgent treatment, for existing patients to book appointments and for new patients to register here.

Private Patients

To avoid the cost of failed or late cancelled appointments being passed onto the rest of our patients, from 20th August 2024 we will charge for un-used time where a patient fails to attend or cancels without reasonable notice (less than 24 hours before the appointment).

Failing to attend an appointment for the first time will result in a letter sent to your home address along with a copy of this policy. It is your responsibility to ensure that we are informed of any changes to your contact information. After the first instance, failing to attend an appointment will result in a charge of £65 per appointment.

Patients who are unable to make their appointment because of illness should, where possible, contact the practice as soon as they are aware that they cannot attend. If you are unsure whether you can make it to an appointment, please contact us early to discuss the matter rather than leaving it to the last minute. Failing to notify us before the appointment time will result in a failure to attend charge being made unless there are exceptional circumstances.

We understand that scenarios do occur and discretion will be used if there is a good reason for the appointment being missed.

Denplan Patients

The missed appointment fees which apply to our Private Patients, as stated above, will also apply to all Denplan Patients.

Please refer to your Denplan Care or Denplan Essentials Handbook under ‘The Care/Essentials Contract between you and your dentist’ (Point 10):

“You are responsible for keeping appointments made with your dentist and you must pay any missed appointment fee should you fail to do so. You must ensure that you also attend your dentist for regular examinations, receive the treatment your dentist advises, and you must promptly inform you dentist of any injury, problem or other material matter affecting your oral health. If you fail to ensure any of this you will be liable to pay any fee reasonably charged for treatment necessary to restore your oral health, which could otherwise have been avoided.”

If a patient doesn't attend for two years, we reserve the right to remove the patient from the practice.

Please note, telephone reminders are provided out of courtesy, not necessity. All patients are to make a note of appointment dates and times. It is your responsibility to turn up on time for an appointment. Failure of the telephone reminder system for any reason is not sufficient reason for failing to attend or turning up too late for treatment.

Health professionals are required to share information about missed appointments and repeated cancellations for the benefit and safeguarding of children. Other people we may inform of any concerns include the child’s family doctor (GP), school nurse, health visitor and/ or the dentist (or other professional) who referred you to us.

NHS patients

If a patient fails to attend an appointment or cancels without 24 hours’ notice twice within a 24 month period the patient will be informed that they will no longer have access to treatment at the practice.

If a patient doesn't attend for two years we reserve the right to remove the patient from the practice.

Please note, telephone reminders are provided out of courtesy, not necessity. All patients are to make a note of appointment dates and times. It is your responsibility to turn up on time for an appointment. Failure of the telephone reminder system for any reason is not sufficient reason for failing to attend or turning up too late for treatment.

Please ensure that ALL medications you are taking are written on your medical history form.

All parts of the medical history form are to be filled out at each visit, including your registered GP practice and emergency contact.

Please let reception know if you have changed any of your personal details since your last visit.

Up to date mobile numbers are essential if you would like to benefit from our courtesy text message service, if you are unsure if we have your current contact details feel free to ask at reception.

Please note that if you do not pay for your NHS dental treatment and have an exemption you are responsible for ticking the correct box on the exemption form.

Reception staff will not be able to help you with this.

Please make sure you know what exemption you receive before you attend your appointment. 

Marking the incorrect exemption may result in a fine from the NHS.

All children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian for all dental appointments. Parental consent is required before any dental procedure can be carried out including x-rays. 

Please note that siblings or guardians under the age of 18 cannot give consent.

Patients who call to discuss their appointments or any other aspect of their personal file must do so themselves.

Patients who would like a member of their family or a friend to have consent to adjust appointments or discuss a patient’s treatment must fill in a consent form or fill in the section in the patient’s medical history, naming the person they have given consent to.

If there is not a consent form signed staff will only be able to discuss personal details with the patient themselves.

Consent from a parent is needed for children under 18. If a grandparent or other relative is to make decisions on behalf of the patient a consent form is to be filled in by the legal guardian. 

Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian for all dental appointments. 

Parental consent is required before any dental procedure can be carried out, including x-rays.

Please note that siblings or guardians under the age of 18 cannot give consent on behalf of another patient.

A non-refundable deposit of £50 is taken when booking your private appointment. The deposit is used towards your final treatment fee, but cannot be refunded if you fail to attend your appointment.

When booking an appointment you will be offered the next available appointment with the next available dentist, unless you are having on going treatment in which case you will see the same dentist until your next routine exam.

If you request to see a specific dentist please be aware that this can drastically increase your waiting time.

Our dental chairs have a manufacturer weight limit of 21 stone (approximately 133 kilos). If your weight exceeds this limit, please inform your treating clinician, nurse or any other member of staff before sitting in the chair so that appropriate arrangements can be made for you safe treatment.

We treat our patients with courtesy and respect and ask for the same in return. We ask that you treat your Dentist, Nurse and all other Practice Staff courteously without violence, abuse or harassment.

Dentists and their staff have the right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.  Any behaviour whether that be verbal, physical or in writing, which causes staff to feel uncomfortable, embarrassed or threatened, is totally unacceptable.

The Zero Tolerance policy includes abuse, aggression or threats made in person, over the telephone or in written communication, including on social media. The Practice considers threatening behaviour to be

• Attempted or actual aggressive, threatening or physical actions made towards any member of staff

• The use of aggressive, threatening or abusive language, (including raising of the voice, swearing, shouting or in writing) which threatens or intimidates staff

This policy applies throughout the premises. It also applies to any employee or partner away from the practice but only in so far as it relates to the business of the practice.

Any instance or threat of physical abuse will be reported to the police. The offender will be removed from the premises by the police. The patient will then be removed from the practice list.

Instances of abusive/threatening behaviour from a patient will be reported to the Practice Manager. Breach of the Zero Tolerance policy will result in their removal from the Practice list.

We hope you understand the reason for this policy which is designed to always keep our staff and other patients safe.

We follow a strict policy for the safe use and disposal of amalgam within the practice. This includes ensuring the correct mixing procedure is followed and using the appropriate equipment to handle and remove excess volumes of the material.

Clinical waste is treated appropriately, with teeth containing amalgam being segregated, stored and sent for the correct recovery and disposal in labelled waste tubs.

We aim to provide a service that delivers the highest quality of care to all patients. We will not discriminate on grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religious beliefs, age or disability. The patients safety and wellbeing will always be our primary concern.

We will provide a service that promotes preventative techniques with regards to oral health. All dental treatment will be provided in accordance with current theory and evidence based practice and we will always opt for the minimally invasive option where possible.

Our service will lead to improved dental health of the local community.

It is our aim to always have satisfied patients, to meet your expectations of care and service and to resolve any complaints as efficiently, effectively and politely as possible. We take complaints very seriously. We investigate them in a full and fair way and take great care to protect your confidentiality.

We learn from complaints to improve our care and service. We will never discriminate against patients who have made a complaint, and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have about this procedure.

If you are not entirely satisfied with any aspect of our care or service please let us know as soon as possible to allow us to address your concerns promptly.

If you do not feel you can raise a complaint about your NHS service directly with us, you can address your complaint directly to NHS England at england.contactus@nhs.net with ‘For the attention of the complaints team' In the subject line.

Hannah McDowell is the Complaints Manager and will be your personal contact to assist you with any complaints. If your verbal complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction within 24 hours or if you complaint in writing, the Complaints Manager will acknowledge it in writing within 3 working days and will aim to provide a full response in writing as soon as practical. This is usually within 10 working days. If for any reason the investigation will take any longer, the patient will be informed of this.

If the Complaints Manager is unavailable, we will take brief details about the complaint and will arrange for a meeting when the person is next available. We will keep comprehensive and confidential records of your complaint, which will be stored securely and only be accessible only by those who need to know about your complaint.

If the complaint investigation takes longer than anticipated the Complaints Manager will keep you informed of the reason for the delay, the progress of the investigation and the proposed date it will be completed.

You can send your complaints to 21 Falsgrave Road, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Y012 SEA, call us on 01723 818584 or email the Complaints Manager on falsgravedental@gmail.com.

When the investigation has been completed, you will be informed of its outcome in writing and invited to a meeting to discuss the results and any practical solutions that we can offer to you. These solutions could include replacing treatment, refunding fees paid, referring you for specialist treatments or other solutions that meet your needs and resolve the complaint.

We regularly analyse patient complaints to learn from them and to improve our services. That's why we always welcome your feedback, comments, suggestions and complaints. If you are dissatisfied with our response to a complaint you can take it further. Please see the contacts below.

Contacts

For private dental treatment you can contact the GDC private dental complaints service within 12 months of the treatment or within 12 months of becoming aware of the issue by calling 020 8253 0800 or visiting www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk

If you are still unhappy about your NHS complaint, you can contact the Parliamentary Health

Ombudsman (England) by calling 0345 015 4033 or visiting www.ombudsman.org.uk

You can also contact the Care Quality Commission (CQC) who regulates private and NHS dental care services in England by calling 03000 616161. They can take action against a service provider that is not meeting their standards.

The General Dental Council is responsible for regulating all dental professionals. You can complain using their online form at www.gdc-uk.org  contact them on information@gdc-org.uk or by calling 0207 167 6000.