When a patient complains, what are they trying to achieve – an apology, a remedy, an expression of sympathy or empathy, accountability or just revenge? Jane Merivale, head of policy and technical at Dental Protection, looks at when financial redress can be the correct course of action.

Dental professionals are required to make and keep accurate dental records of care provided to patients, whether NHS or private. Dental Protection is frequently contacted by members who want to understand how long records should be retained by the practice.

The Local Authority Social Services & NHS Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 came into force on 1 April 2009 and introduced a revised procedure for the handling of complaints by local authorities, in respect of complaints about adult social care, and by NHS bodies, primary care providers and independent providers in respect of provision of NHS care.

The Ombudsman takes the view that complaints handling should be ‘Do it once do it right’. The Ombudsman will be looking for an appropriate, proportionate response which meets the principles of good complaints handling.

Patients who remain unhappy after local resolution is complete may request a review of their complaint by the Ombudsman. The person responding must inform the complainant of their right to take their complaint to the Ombudsman Health Service. Effectively what was a three-stage procedure is simplified into two stages.

The new NHS Scotland Complaints Handling Procedure places an emphasis on empowering all staff to resolve issues “on-the-spot” where they can. Primary Care service providers also have to make sure they record all complaints, even those resolved efficiently. Sara Dawson explores all the changes below

The key to complaints handling is a flexibility of approach. The complaints handling process should adapt to the needs of a patient and not the other way round. Although there is no single way to handle a complaint, there are some key steps that should always be considered...

It’s fair to say that nobody likes to receive complaints, but our ability to respond to them constructively, and to learn any lessons that they provide for us, goes to the very heart of professionalism especially working in dental practice.

Natalie Bradley studied at Newcastle Dental School and qualified in June 2014. "I wrote this article based on a talk by Jane Merivale who talked at the FGDP Open Day" "it is an explanation of how complaints come about and how to manage them in practice."

When the practice receives a complaint it must acknowledge the complaint not later than 3 working days after the day on which it was received. At the same time, an offer must be made to discuss with the patient the handling of the complaint and the likely period for the investigation and response.

Why would I want to draw attention to the practice complaints procedure? Surely that will encourage patients to sue me?

Simon Gomersall a solicitor with Radcliffes LeBrasseurs, shares his experiences in the hope that others can learn from them.