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 and cancellation policy.
Management of appointments
We invest in the latest technology to allow our patients to make 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. If your appointment becomes inconvenient for you, we are always happy to rearrange it but would ask that you give us the correct amount of notice. Appointments can be made or rescheduled by calling our reception team on 01225 448400 or via email to info@thedentalimplantclinic.com.
Reminders
E-mail/Text/Postal reminders are sent to patients up to 7 days before any 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 2 business days notice to cancel a regular dental appointment. For appointments longer than 2 hours, 7 business days notice is required. Late cancellations and missed appointments represent a cost to the practice, when other patients could have been seen in the time set aside for the patient. For appointments on Mondays, we ask that you let us know by mid-day on the preceding Friday if you can no longer attend.
There is a fee for dental appointments that are missed or cancelled with less than 2 business days 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 fees incurred. We understand that cancellations are sometimes unavoidable due to illness or emergencies and we will take account of all valid circumstances.
Repeated Cancellations/Missed Appointments
Where more than two dental appointments are missed or cancelled without the required notice being given, the practice reserves the right to request a pre-payment of £60 per half hour to be paid at the time of making the next appointment.
Any appeals about missed or cancelled appointment decisions by a patient should be made in writing to the Practice Manager, Natalie Ballantyne.