Complaints
procedure

§ 01Our commitment

Bright Blue Dental Practice (operating the implant service as "Bournemouth Dental Implants") takes every complaint seriously. We treat concerns as an opportunity to improve the care we give and the way the practice is run. No patient will be discriminated against, treated less favourably, or have their care affected because they have made a complaint.

This procedure follows the standards set by the General Dental Council and the Care Quality Commission.

§ 02How to raise a concern

You can contact us by any of the following routes. Wherever possible, please raise the concern with the practice first — most issues are resolved quickly when we hear about them early.

You may put your concern in writing, send an email, or ask to speak with the Complaints Lead in person. A relative or advocate may raise a complaint on your behalf if you give them written authority to do so.

§ 03What happens next

We aim to acknowledge every complaint within three working days. The acknowledgement will:

• Confirm we have received your complaint
• Name the person who will handle it
• Set out the timescale we expect to follow
• Invite you to a meeting, telephone call or written exchange, whichever you prefer

§ 04Investigating your complaint

An impartial review is carried out by the Complaints Lead, drawing on clinical notes, imaging, financial records and any communication relevant to your concern. Where the complaint relates to the conduct of the Complaints Lead, the investigation is handled by the senior partner instead.

We may seek input from external advisors — for example, our dental defence organisation — where this would help us reach a fair conclusion.

§ 05Our written response

You will receive a written response within ten working days of acknowledgement. If the investigation will take longer than this — for instance, because we need to consult an external clinician — we will write to explain why, and give a revised timescale.

The response will:

• Summarise what we understand the complaint to be
• Set out the findings of the investigation, in plain language
• Acknowledge anything we got wrong and explain what we will change
• Where appropriate, offer remedial treatment, a refund, or a goodwill gesture
• Explain your options if you are still unhappy

§ 06If you are still unhappy

If our response does not resolve your concern, you are welcome to come back to us — we can hold a further meeting or look again at any aspect of the investigation. You are also entitled to refer the matter to an independent body without coming back to us first.

§ 07Independent bodies

The bodies below can review complaints about private dental care:

• Dental Complaints Service — a free service for private dental complaints, funded by the GDC. 020 8253 0800. dcs.gdc-uk.org
• General Dental Council — the statutory regulator for dentists in the UK. The GDC handles complaints about a clinician's fitness to practise. 0207 167 6000. gdc-uk.org
• Care Quality Commission — the regulator of healthcare providers in England. The CQC does not investigate individual complaints but uses information from patients to inform inspections. 03000 616161. cqc.org.uk
• Information Commissioner's Office — for complaints relating to data and confidentiality. ico.org.uk

§ 08Confidentiality & record-keeping

Complaints are recorded in a confidential complaints log, separate from your clinical record. Information is shared only with those involved in investigating and resolving the complaint, and is retained for ten years in line with NHS guidance.

Aggregated complaints data — with names removed — is reviewed at our annual clinical-governance meeting and used to inform staff training and changes to practice procedures.