Appointment Policies

It is the aim of this practice to provide quality dental care to our patients and to use clinical time effectively. To achieve this aim, we have an appointment management, cancellation and attendance policy.

Management of appointments
We invest in the latest technology to allow our patients to make or reschedule appointments easily. Our appointment system supports timely access to care and treatment, allows patients to access services at a time that suits them and minimises the length of time people have to wait. Appointments can be made or rescheduled by calling or emailing our reception team on 0115 9603 572 or  reception@westdaledental.com.

Reminders
E-mail  reminders are sent to patients 5  days before any appointment followed by a text reminder 2 days before an appointment and patients are requested to inform the practice of any changes to their contact details.

Cancellation or delay of an appointment by the practice
We will only cancel or delay a patient’s appointment in unavoidable circumstances. In such cases, we will take the following steps:

• The patient will be contacted as soon as the practice is aware of the need to cancel or delay the appointment. We will explain the reason for the cancellation or delay
• At the time of contact, the patient will be offered a new appointment at the earliest time available
• If the patient is unable to commit to a new appointment during that contact, we will ask them to get in touch at a later time, when we will offer them a priority appointment

Cancellation of an appointment or missed appointment by a patient
Patients are requested to give at least 24 hours’ notice to cancel a dental appointment.  Late cancellations and missed appointments may represent a cost to the practice, when other patients could have been seen in the time set aside for the patient.

We do not charge NHS patients for a late cancellation or missed appointment. However, we reserve the right to ask a patient to find another dental practice if they continue to miss and/or short notice cancel appointments.

If more than 2 NHS dental appointments are missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, we do not guarantee being able to complete a patient’s NHS treatment or offer them NHS treatment in the future.

There is a fee for private dental appointments that are missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice. The fee is based on the length of the appointment.

It is our aim to telephone or write to patients after a missed appointment to understand the reason for non-attendance and to inform them about any fee or decision about their NHS dental care. We understand that cancellations are sometimes unavoidable due to illness or emergencies and we will take account of all valid circumstances.

Any appeals about missed or cancelled appointment decisions by a patient should be made in writing to the Practice Manager.

NHS Registration & Attendance Policy

Following the introduction of the 2006 Dental Contract patients are no longer registered for NHS dental care. This means that under NHS guidelines there is no longer a permanent list of NHS patients and the practice has no long-term obligation to see patients on the NHS unless they are undergoing active treatment.

Westdale Dental has set its own local policy for “NHS Registration” and offers NHS care to patients up to 2 years from their last dental examination. This is in line with NICE guidance on recalls which states that no more than 2 years should elapse between dental examination.

The practice will encourage patients to attend for their dental examinations at the recommended NICE recall interval. At the end of a course of active NHS treatment the patient will be asked to book their next dental examination. At 5 days prior to the appointment an email reminder will be sent followed by a text reminder 2 days before the appointment. For some patients who do not have access to an email address and/or mobile device, the reception team will make individual arrangements with the patient for a reminder individual to their needs.

The practice may routinely contact patients to remind them to re-engage with the practice but ultimately it is the responsibility of the patient to attend at regular intervals to ensure they do not lose access to NHS services.

Any NHS patient who has not attended an appointment at the practice for a 2-year period from their last dental examination will not be offered any further NHS appointments. This allows us to manage the high demand for NHS dental services.

PRIVATE Registration & Attendance Policy

Westdale Dental does not charge patients a private registration fee. However, we follow this policy to ensure that private appointments are managed efficiently and effectively.

If a patient misses an appointment or cancels with less than 24 hours’ notice a fee will be raised based on the length of the appointment time missed.

For hygienist appointments the full charge of the appointment cost will be made.

For patients on our membership plans who cancel at short notice or miss their appointment, they will forfeit this visit on their plan.

If a patient continually fails to attend appointments and misses or short notice cancels 2 or more appointments the practice may not be able to offer any further appointments.

If a new patient fails to attend their first appointment, we reserve the right to refuse further appointments at the practice and the deposit paid will not be refunded.

Please note: although we send text and email reminders prior to appointments, the successful delivery of these relies on your email provider and your mobile network provider and cannot always be guaranteed. Therefore, you should not rely exclusively on these reminders. We cannot accept responsibility for any appointments missed as a result on non-delivery.

Appointment Management, Cancellation & Attendance Policy Rev Oct 24