Late Cancellation & Non Attendance Policy

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

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 reception team on 01538 388822 .

Reminders

E-mail/Text reminders are sent to patients 2 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 24 hours’ notice to cancel a dental appointment. Cancellations should be made by telephone on: 01538 388822 . 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. A Short notice cancellation is classed as less than 24 hours notice, and is categorised as a missed appointment (or Failure to Attend, FTA)

We do not make a charge for 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 appointments. If more than two 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.

We do have a charge system in place for private patients who either fail to attend an appointment or cancel with less than 24 hours notice. There is a charge of £1 per minute for the full length of the missed/cancelled appointment. For example, failure to attend a 20 minute check up would result in a £20 charge. This will need to be paid before you are able to book in for a new appointment at the practice, along with a deposit for the appointment you are booking. The deposit will be the cost of the appointment you are attending. For example, a £150 deposit will be taken if you are booking in for a filling appointment to the value of £150.

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 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.