Appointment Management and Cancellation 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.

Appointment booking

Our appointment books open 3 months in advance. This is to avoid cancellations (from ourselves and patients) and missed appointments. We do this to make it fair and equal for all our patients.

Reminders
E-mail/text (SMS) reminders are sent to patients 7 days before any appointment and the day before their appointment. Patients are requested to inform the practice of any changes to their contact details by calling us on 01422 240874 or updating details on your next visit.

If a text message or email reminder is not successfully delivered, the practice is not responsible for issuing further reminders or for missed appointments. It remains the responsibility of the patient to ensure they attend their scheduled appointments, to keep their own record of appointment dates and times and not rely solely on automated reminders. 

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: [ 01422 240874 ]. 

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 3 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.

There is a fee for private dental appointments including hygienist visits that are missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice. The fee is based on the length of the appointment.

If you wish to discuss your record regarding missed or cancelled appointment decisions then this should be done in writing to the Practice Manager, Kiran Kaur.