Appointment Management and Cancellation Policy

It is our aim to use our clinical time efficiently for the benefit of all our patients and to provide quality dental care.

Management of appointments

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 our dedicated Receptionist on 01924 493181.

Reminders

Email or text reminders are sent to patients up to 7 days before any appointment.

Patients are also requested to inform the practice of any changes to their contact details, so that this system works efficiently.

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

Cancellation of an appointment or missed appointment by a patient

Patients are requested to give us at least 24 hours’ notice to cancel a dental appointment, so we can offer that appointment to someone for a priority appointment. Cancellations should be made by telephone on 01924 493181. Late cancellations and missed appointments result in inefficient use of our appointment slots.

For repeated late cancellations or missed appointments, we reserve the right to ask a patient to find another dental practice if they miss more than one NHS appointment.

If more than one NHS dental appointment is missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, we will not be able to offer patients 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 booked.

We aim to telephone, email 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, as appropriate.