24 May 2006 - "Launch of Service"

Press release issued by the General Dental Council. Embargoed until: 00.01hrs 24 May 2006 

New service to resolve complaints about private dental care

Complaints about private dental care will become easier and quicker to resolve with a new, independent service launched today (Wednesday, 24 May 2006).

The General Dental Council (GDC), the organisation which regulates dental professionals in the UK, is setting up the Dental Complaints Service to help resolve complaints about private dental care as fairly, efficiently, transparently and swiftly as possible. This forms an important step in the GDC's modernisation programme to enhance patient protection and promote high standards of dentistry in the UK. Resolving complaints may involve recommending an apology, a refund of fees and/or a contribution by a dental practice towards the costs of remedial treatment.

Currently, NHS dental patients can use the NHS complaints process, but private patients who have not been able to resolve their complaint with a dental practice have limited options open to them. The new service seeks to plug that gap.

GDC President, Hew Mathewson, said:

“The aim of setting up the Dental Complaints Service is to help dental patients resolve complaints about private dental care as fairly, efficiently, transparently and quickly as we can. We hope that patients will use this service to sort out problems, and avoid the expense and delays of court action. The service will also help dental professionals to improve the quality of service they provide.”

The new service was welcomed by Health Minister Rosie Winterton, who said:

"Patients rightly have confidence in the high professional standards applied by the vast majority of dental practitioners, but as with any service complaints will arise. I have been particularly concerned about complaints from patients who thought they were being treated under the NHS and then received a bill for private treatment.

"We are delighted that the Dental Complaints Service is being launched. It is widely recognised that a complaints service for private patients, parallel to that for NHS patients, is long overdue. The General Dental Council is to be congratulated on setting up this new initiative."

Dissatisfied dental patients who call the Dental Complaints Service will first be encouraged to use their dental practice's own complaints procedures, if they have not already done so. If a complaint remains unresolved, Dental Complaints Service advisers will discuss it directly with the patient and dental professional concerned.

If the adviser cannot resolve matters, the complaint will go to one of a series of regional panels, consisting of two members of the public (lay volunteers) and one dental professional volunteer, who will advise the lay panel members on clinical issues. The panel will meet with the dentist and complainant and recommend how best to resolve the complaint. Their emphasis will be on resolving complaints using common sense.

Serious complaints - which raise issues about patient safety and whether a practitioner should be allowed to continue practising - will continue to be dealt with by the GDC as they are now.

The Dental Complaints Service is preparing for around 2 – 4,000 complaints a year from across the UK. It is hoped that around 80 per cent of these complaints will be resolved by advisers, without the need to hold a panel.

Dental patients can contact the Dental Complaints Service by calling 08456 120 540 (local rate), visiting www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk, or e-mailing info@dentalcomplaints.org.uk. The service can also supply contact details for complaints about NHS dental care.

Ends

Note to editors:

The GDC regulates dental professionals in the UK. All dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists must be registered with the GDC to practise in the United Kingdom - whether they work in the NHS, private practice or any other form of practice. During 2006, the GDC will also start to register dental nurses and dental technicians.

Note to broadcasters:

Hew Mathewson, Gordon Miles, Director of the new service, and Derek Prentice, who chairs the Advisory Body overseeing the service, are available for interview.

Media contact: Mike Hutchinson (mike.hutchinson@dentalcomplaints.org.uk) on 020 7624 6257 or 07760 155 216.

We have put the launch briefing below for downloading.

Download Documents

• Launch briefing