Practice Complaints Procedure

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.

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 your local Health Board.

ABMU
Primary and Community Services Delivery Unit
Neath Port Talbot Office
Neath Port Talbot Hospital
Block A Baglan
SA12 7BX

Sarah Phillips is the Complaints Manager (Laura Morris in her absence) 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 Complaints Manager will acknowledge it in writing within 2 working days and will aim to provide a full response in writing within 30 working days.

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.

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 Ombudsman for Wales by calling 0300 790 0203 or visiting www.ombudsman-wales.org.uk
• You can also contact Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) who is the independent inspectorate and regulator of all healthcare in Wales by calling 0300 062 8163. The role of its investigation team is to undertake focused reviews of healthcare organisations or services in response to concerns arising from a particular incident or incidents.

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 020 7167 6000.

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