Appointment Management and Cancellation Policy 

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 and an online booking system, 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 0161 428 7226, appointments are also bookable online via our patient portal.

Reminders

Text or email reminders are sent to patients when they have initially booked in via a phone call, they would also have forms sent for them to complete before attendance at the practice.

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 we are not able to do this the patient will be placed onto a waiting list for future contact
▪ 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

Cancellation of an appointment or missed appointment by a patient

Patients are requested to give at least 48 hours’ notice to cancel a dental appointment. Cancellations should be made by telephone on: 0161 428 7226, they can also send an email to hello@ohmysmile.co.uk giving at least 48 hours notice. 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.

There is a fee for private dental appointments that are missed or cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice. The fee is based on the length of the appointment.

It is our aim to telephone/email 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, Sam Holt.