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: 01707334444. Late cancellations and missed appointments may represent a cost to the practice, when other patients could have been seen in the time set aside for the patient.
England/Wales: 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 two 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 that are missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice. The fee is based on the length of the appointment and is chargeable at £2/minute missed. Please note we reserve the right to request deposits for longer or new patient appointments.
Hygienist appointments are a fixed rate of £30
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 NHS 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, Katie Lockyear
