Complaints

Newquay Dental Centre welcomes comments, compliments, concerns, and complaints. We always aim to provide the best care we can. However, we know that sometimes things can go wrong. When this happens, we believe that is it often most effective to sort problems out quickly and informally. Please talk to any member of staff if you have a problem or concern.

The Complaints Procedure is a more formal way of resolving a concern. We want to assure people that they can make a complaint without fear of their care being affected. We believe it is important to understand why things go wrong so that we can prevent such things happening again.

There are two stages to the Complaints Procedure. The first stage is called ‘Local Resolution’. This is where we work with you to resolve your complaint. If after this, you feel your complaint to be still unresolved you can progress to the second stage by approaching the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman for an ‘Independent Review’.

If you want to make a formal complaint, please contact the Complaints Manager, Keri Bowles. You can do this in writing (including by email), by phone or in person. The Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) can help you make a complaint if you wish.

Please try to make your complaint as soon as possible. There are time limits; normally twelve months after the event you are complaining about (or became aware of the matter for complaint). However, there are exceptions to this, and we will always try to help as much as we can.

If you are making a complaint on behalf of another person, we may need to ask for that person’s consent before investigating the complaint.

The Complaints Manager will discuss with you how you would like your complaint resolved and how long this might take. The person who investigates your complaint may need to talk to other staff and look at your medical records. They will be careful to ensure that any information about you is kept confidential. Your complaint will not be recorded in your medical notes.

We will acknowledge your complaint and how we have agreed to resolve it within 3 working days. We will keep you informed of progress; letting you know of any delays in resolving your complaint. We will usually advise you of the outcome by letter; however, we are also happy to meet with you. We will let you know the outcome of the investigation and of action taken as a result.  If you are unhappy with any aspect of how we have handled your complaint, we would prefer you to tell us. This means that we can discuss if there are any other ways of locally resolving your concerns.

USEFUL CONTACTS

Keri Bowles (Complaints Manager)
Newquay Dental Centre
194 Henver Road
Newquay
Cornwall
TR7 3EH
Email: kbowles@newquaydc.co.uk

Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS)
1st Floor, 17 Dean Street, Liskeard, PL14 4AB
Tel: 01579 345193
Email: liskeard.icas@seap.org.uk

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 015 4033
Online: www.ombudsman.org.uk

Dental Complaints Service
37 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8DQ
Tel: 020 8253 0800
Online: https://contactus.gdc-uk.org/dcs/Complaint/PrivatePatients

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01637 879207
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Contact us

194 Henver Road, Newquay,
Cornwall TR7 3EH

Phone: 01637 879207
reception@newquaydc.co.uk

Company reg no 6484023

Our hours

By appointment only:
Monday: 9.00am – 5.00pm
Tuesday: 9.00am – 6.30pm
Wednesday: 8.00am – 5.00pm
Thursday: 8.00am – 5.00pm
Friday: 8.00am – 4.00pm

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Please read this letter carefully as it gives details of important changes regarding your future dental care.

For many years we have been fully committed to providing patients with the highest level of NHS patient care and it continues to be a pleasure to treat all of our patients.

Over the last few months, we have become increasingly busy, and it has become apparent that we now need to make some changes to the way we practise, given the demands on our time. Our main priority is to continuously strive to improve the dental care we can offer to our patients. We want to be able to spend more time with you and offer you a wider choice of treatments in a more relaxed environment, and also reduce the appointment waiting times.

We have seen major changes in dentistry and the wider world in recent years. Real terms funding cuts plus recruitment and retention challenges have put a strain on us providing routine NHS care for patients. All of this has led us to reflect on what we can offer as a dental practice and how we can make best use of the resources we have available.

For more information on NHS dentistry, including funding and charges please click here.

The quality of care we offer our patients is of utmost importance to us, so we have been working hard behind the scenes making important decisions and changes in the strive to improve.

What is changing?

Therefore, after much deliberation, as of 1st October 2023, we will only be seeing patients on an independent basis. In order to assist with this change, we would like to introduce our membership package for the practice.

As a parent/guardian registered on one of our dental membership plans, we will continue to see your children up to the age of 5 years old free of charge for their routine dental health examinations.

Our patient membership plan helps you keep your teeth and gums healthy by allowing you to budget monthly for your dental care so that you can attend on a basis that’s right for you. Through regular examinations and hygiene appointments we can spot issues early, potentially saving you from more invasive treatment in the future, and it is cheaper than paying as you go. Full details of our membership plans and your options are available here.

Pay-as-you-go.

For those of you who do not wish to join the plan, we will still be able to offer you a full range of treatments on a private pay-as-you go basis, however please note, you will not benefit from the discounts off treatments or other member benefits.

If you want to stay with us on this basis, please speak to a member of our team to reserve your place on our lists, and book or confirm your next appointment if you do not have one already.

What happens next?

If you have an NHS appointment booked with Newquay Dental Centre prior to 1st October 2023, please attend this as normal. We will be seeing you for this and any subsequent treatment you may require under the current NHS arrangements. At this appointment we will be able to discuss what we feel would be the best option for you to maintain your dental health, then you will need to decide if you want to continue with us as your dentist on an independent basis or should you wish to access another NHS dental practice, you can visit the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk to find a local dental practice that is currently accepting patients or telephone the NHS Waiting list on 0333 006 3300.

If you need help, please just ask! If you require any more information about becoming a member of our scheme, any of the changes outlined in this letter or would like to discuss the options available to you before your next appointment, our reception team will be more than happy to discuss this with you in person, or by phone on 01637 879207.

Finally, we would like to let all our patients know that we have thoroughly enjoyed looking after you and those of you that cannot remain with us, for whatever reason, will be sadly missed.

Kindest regards,

Stuart Williams & Maria Gonzalo

Letter to patients from Newquay Dental Centre

Read letter

Coronavirus Information

Please do not attend for your appointment if you have Covid-19 or suspect you might. Call the practice at your earliest convenience and we will reschedule your appointment.