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.

Management of appointments
We invest in the latest technology, including modern telephone equipment, 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 appointments line on 0115 982 1000.

Reminders
Email and text reminders are sent to patients in advance with the opportunity to confirm appointments.

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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.  Late cancellations and missed appointments may represent a cost to the practice, when other patients could have been seen in the time reserved for the patient.
 

There is a fee for dental appointments that are missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice. The fee is based on the length of the appointment, £1 per minute.  Fee to be applied after confirming with the manager.

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 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.  In situations of two or more missed or late cancelled appointments without reasonable or valid reason it is the Practice Managers discretion to offer any further appointments.

Deposit Policy

 

For more complex procedures, appointments lasting 60 mins or more or for a new patient examination patients are kindly requested to pay a deposit or advanced payment towards your treatment.  This enables the allocated time to be reserved and helps to spread the cost of treatment.   

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For new patient examinations the examination fee will be taken in advance.

 

Lady Bay Dental Care reserve the right to retain the deposit amount if insufficient notice is not provided for cancellations or in the event of a missed appointment.