At Epic Dental 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.

Complaints Procedure – This practice operates a complaints procedure as part of its dealing with patients’ complaints which complies with the Health and Social Care Complaints Procedure (Revised April 2019) and in compliance with The Independent Health Care Regulations(Northern Ireland)2005

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. Our practice Manager is responsible for investigating complaints 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 complain in writing, the Practice Manager will acknowledge it in writing within 3 working days and will aim to provide a full response in writing as soon as practical which is usually within 20 working days.

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 Practice Manager will keep you informed of the reason for the delay, the progress of the investigation and the proposed date it will be completed.

When the investigation has been completed, you will be informed of its outcome in writing. If you are unhappy with our response to your complaint, we would encourage you to contact us again with any outstanding issues and we will investigate further and/or advise of options available to you.

 

Patients are asked that in the event of any complaint, to speak directly or write to the clinician concerned, or to the practice Manager Debbie via email pm@epicdentallisburn.co.uk. Patients who require further advice regarding the complaints process should direct their enquiry to her who, when applicable, may recommend the services of an independent advocate ( e.g. The Patient and Client Council).

Patient Client Council

2nd Floor,

Centre House,

79 Chichester St,

Belfast BT1 4JE

Telephone : 0800 917 0222

Email:Complaints.pcc@hscni.net

A copy of the complaints process is held in the waiting room and can be emailed.

If you remain unhappy you can refer your complaint to the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO):

NIPSO

Progressive House,

33-37 Wellington Pl,

Belfast.

BT1 6HN

Telephone: 0800 343424

Email: nipso@nipso.org.uk

NIPSO will look at your complaint and decide whether they should investigate it.

Complaints about private dental treatment, if not satisfied with the in house process, should be referred to:

Dental Complaints Service

37 Wimpole Street

London W1G 8DQ

Telephone: 02082530800

Email: contactus.gdc-uk.org

This procedure should be followed if you are complaining on behalf of someone else.

The rules of medical confidentiality will be adhered to if the complaint is received on behalf of someone else. A note signed by the person concerned will be required, unless they are incapable (e.g. because of illness) of providing this to allow the complaint to be investigated.

The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) is the independent body responsible for monitoring and inspecting the availability and quality of health and social care services in Northern Ireland, and encouraging improvements in the quality of those services.  RQIA does not investigate complaints however, through their regulatory activities, they have an important role in ensuring all regulated services have an effective complaints procedure, take complaints seriously and investigate complaints thoroughly, in line with DoH complaints guidelines.

RQIA

James House, 2-4 Cromac Avenue, BELFAST, BT7 2JA

Telephone: 028 9536 1111 (9am – 5pm Mon to Fri)

Email: info@rqia.org.uk