DDU advice

The dento-legal adviser talked through the scenario with our principal member, to see how he wanted to deal with this verbal complaint. The principal dentist explained that the receptionist was very distressed by the call, and although he was sympathetic to the situation the patient was in, he rightly felt he needed to explain to the patient that the receptionist had been correct and was only doing her job.

Having talked through the options with the adviser, our member called the patient and offered condolences for their loss and apologised for their concern about the fees. He was able to calmly explain how the NHS fee structure worked and the fees that they were obliged and entitled to charge on behalf of the NHS.

As a goodwill gesture, he decided to offer to see the patient and waive the fee for the permanent filling. The patient was extremely grateful and attended the appointment with a written apology for the receptionist and thanked our member for being so understanding.

Key points

Both patients and staff are under a lot of strain in these difficult times, and showing support to staff and some leniency towards patients can go a long way to generating goodwill.
Talking through how you propose to handle a complaint can be very helpful before making a call to a patient, and can clarify your options.
You have no obligation to waive fees that you're entitled to claim, and while choosing to do so is your prerogative and can resolve a complaint without escalation, we are here to support you in whatever action you decide to take.
We're also here to support members in dealing with patients who exhibit unacceptable behaviour towards staff.

A difficult patient interaction

A difficult patient interaction