Appointment Management Policy-Barming Dental Clinic, Maidstone

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. Registration at the practice occurs after the first appointment. Patients will be automatically deregistered when they have not attended the practice for a comprehensive examination as advised by the NICE Guidelines within the last 24 months. A new patient examination will be required to reregister. Reregistration will be subject to appointment availability.

Management of appointments

We utilise technology to allow our patients to make or reschedule 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. Appointments can be made or rescheduled by calling our dedicated reception team on 01622 728159 by email at info@smileologymaidstone.co.uk and in some instances via our online booking platform.

Advance payments

Advanced payments are collected upon booking appointments. Kindly note that we do not provide written estimates for Examination, Hygiene, Emergency appointments and consultations. Booking appointments on the phone or electronically implies that you have consented for appointments and agreed to pay these fees as published. The fee guide for these items are available online and  in-practice.

Reminders

E-mail reminders are sent to patients 10 days and again 2 days before any appointment and text reminders are sent to patients 24 hours before any appointment. Patients attending to see the hygienist are called the day before their appointment. Patients are requested to inform the practice of any changes to their

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 48 hours’ notice to cancel a dental appointment. Cancellations should be made by telephone on: 01622 728159. 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.

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 three NHS dental appointments are missed or cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice, we do not guarantee being able to complete a patient’s NHS treatment or offer them NHS treatment in the future.

There is a fee for private dental appointments that are missed or cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice. A missed appointment fee is from £60 per missed appointment, with an additional £2 per minute for each appointment over 30 minutes. If the practice is able to fill the appointment, we may be able to waiver the fee.

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 NHS 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 Brooke Jinman.