Failing to Attend /Late Cancellation of Appointments Policy

NHS England (Cheshire, Warrington & Wirral) 1829 Building, Countess of Chester Healthpark, Liverpool Road, Chester, CH2 1HJ, Tel: 01925 406 000

Or: The parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank London SW1P 4QP, Tel: 0345 015 4033 or www.ombudsman.org.uk for complaints about NHS treatments.

The Dental Complaints Service, The Lansdowne Building, 2 Lansdowne Road, Croydon, Greater London CR9 2ER, Tel: 08456 120 540 for complaints about private treatment.

The General Dental Council, 37 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 8DQ, Tel: 0845 222 4141, the dentists' regulatory body for complaints about professional misconduct.

NHS Patients

Under the NHS regulations, we are unable to charge NHS patients who fail to attend their appointments or who cancel at short notice (less than 48 hours). Any patient, who fails to attend their appointment or cancels at short notice, will be sent either a letter/email/text or phone call warning them that they will lose their NHS entitlement at Crewe Dental Care.

If they fail to attend or cancel at short notice the second time within a 3 year period, Crewe Dental Care has the right to withdraw offering NHS treatment to the relevant patient at this practice.

A patient who fails to attend an appointment within an 18 months period will be discharged from Crewe Dental Care. Should they wish to remain a patient here, they will need to register on a private basis. This is in line with the NHS Choices website that states, ‘your dentist can terminate your treatment if you miss your appointment without letting the dental practice know. You may then need to pay again for a new course of treatment. While surgeries can’t charge you for not turning up, NHS England has the right to ask you to find another dental practice if you continue to miss appointments.’

Discretion may be used if there is a good reason for the appointment being missed.

As with all medical facilities, we aim to see our patients on time but due to the nature of health care, this is not always possible. However, if a patient turns up late for their appointment whereby treatment cannot be carried out, this will be regarded as failing to attend (FTA). This policy does not affect your ability to seek NHS care at another NHS dental practice.

Patients Attending Appointments for Private Treatment

To cover the surgery running costs a charge of £1.50 per minute will be made for private treatment appointments that have been missed or cancelled at short notice. (For example, a missed 30 minute appointment will incur a charge of £45).

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

Crewe Dental Care

Management