We obviously understand that sometimes life gets in the way and we will always be very understanding of this. However, failure to attend appointments or very late cancellations (less than 24 hours’ notice) can have a considerably negative impact on independent dental practices like us and on other patients awaiting treatment who could otherwise have been seen sooner. We therefore have introduced the following policies:
- Private (pay-as-you-go) patients who fail to attend two appointments (dental or hygiene) within a 12 month period may be charged a fee which is equivalent to £2 for each minute missed. Patients must pay this before making any further appointments at the practice.
- If the same patient subsequently fail to attend a 3rd appointment within the same 12 month period they will be charged a fee for this missed appointment equivalent to £3 for each minute missed.
- If the same patient misses a 4th appointment within 18 months of their their first missed appointment then we will kindly ask them to register instead at another dental practice.
- Denplan/LIDP patients on dental plans who fail to attend a two appointments (dental or hygiene) within a 12 month period may be advised that they have missed their allocated appointment (as per the quota allowed within their plan) and have the option of either a) accepting they have missed their allocated appointment and wait until their next examination/hygiene appointment is due or b) making a new appointment for their earliest convenience but paying a private fee for this additional appointment which is over and above the number of appointments allowed in their plan.
Please note, any appointments that are cancelled without giving the practice 24 hours’ notice may be viewed as a faulire to attend if we are unable to fill the resultant space in our schedule.
