28 Nov 2006 - "New Head of Dental Complaints"

HUGH SMITH IS NEW HEAD OF DENTAL COMPLAINTS SERVICE

Hugh Smith has been appointed as the new head of the Dental Complaints Service, which helps resolve complaints about private dental care, it was announced today (Tuesday, 28 November 2006).

Hugh spent 21 years with Barclays Bank, including four years in Botswana in the mid-‘90s. He joined Barclays from the army, in which he spent four years after leaving the University of St Andrews, where he studied Classics.

Hugh replaces Gordon Miles, who was recently appointed as Director of Resources and Planning at the General Dental Council, the regulator for the dental profession in the UK. The Dental Complaints Service was set up and is funded by, but is independent of, the GDC, with separate offices and staff.

“I’m very impressed with the Dental Complaints Service’s performance so far,” says Hugh. “The challenge will be to maintain its achievements, and build on them. We will have to remain fair and transparent, and aim to continue resolving complaints in days rather than weeks or months. The important thing is that we remain customer-focused.

“I like the vision of the organisation – looking for a positive outcome for the dental patient and dental professional alike. The service is genuinely innovative, and offers a great opportunity to work and learn with a committed and highly-motivated team.”

Hugh’s last three years with Barclays was as relationship director in a team focused on the professional services sector, including solicitors, accountants and surveyors. When he left Barclays in March it was with hopes of working in the not-for-profit sector.

The Dental Complaints Service launched on May 24, with the aim of helping to restore the relationship between the patient and the dental professional. By November, it had received more than 3,500 calls on its 08456 120540 complaints hotline, and more than 800 complaints. Nearly half (42 per cent) were closed in a single working day, and nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) were closed in two days. Speed is a hallmark of the service.

“We are delighted to welcome Hugh,” says Derek Prentice, who chairs the Service’s Advisory Board. “More than 800 dental patients, who previously would have had nowhere to turn, have seen their complaints successfully resolved by the new service, or by reference back to their dental practice. We know Hugh will build on this success.”





Complaints that raise issues about patient safety and whether a practitioner should be allowed to continue practising continue to be dealt with by the GDC.

To contact the Dental Complaints Service, call 08456 120540 (local rate), visit www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk, or email info@dentalcomplaints.org.uk.

Ends

Media contact ONLY: Mike Hutchinson (mike.hutchinson@dentalcomplaints.org.uk) on 020 7624 6257 or 07760 155216.

Note to editors: The Dental Complaints Service is funded by the General Dental Council (the regulator for the dental profession in the UK) to help resolve complaints by patients about private dental care as fairly, efficiently, transparently and quickly as possible. NHS patients are covered by a different scheme.