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to who would i complain?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
about the NHS dental service?
i've heard bumblebee talk about the NHS complaints, but do they do dentistry too?
my dad has suggested writing to my MP, and my mum says write to the local paper.
how else could i kick up a stink, cause this isn't on.
i've heard bumblebee talk about the NHS complaints, but do they do dentistry too?
my dad has suggested writing to my MP, and my mum says write to the local paper.
how else could i kick up a stink, cause this isn't on.
0
Comments
my other plan is to go to the dental hospital A&E and chain myself to the chairs until they agree to see me.
Not sure if that's right, though!!
Good luck
do you think if i paid to have my operation privately (cause i really can't stand it anymore) that there would be any chance of recovering my money from the NHS? or is that just wishful thinking?
possibly wishful thinking to be honest.
are you going to do all of these things? i think you should. get as much publicity as you can and create as much hassle as you can. they have left you in pain and i thought that the whole point of the NHS was to help people and as you are in constant pain you should be a priority. so i think you should kick up as much of a stink as you possibly can :yes:
*Nods*
oh yes.
my dad is master of the art of complaining. i am going to get him to help me devise an angry letter, and then send it to everyone and anyone i can think of.
if this is happening to me, it must be happening to loads of other people, at least in my area, and it's not on.
I wouldn't do this if I were you. They will refer you back down to the bottom of the pile. You should never just go straight to the top when there are strict proceedures and policies in place. Basically the view is taken that if you can't be arsed to follow the official proceedure then you don't really care enough to get the complaint done properly.
All NHS services must have a written complains proceedure. Pop in or telephone and ask for a copy. They legally have to give you a copy of this. Follow the proceedure and complain to who they tell you to complain to. If you aren't satisifed with that they have to tell you who you can complain to above them. If you go straight to the primary care trust for example they will simply tell you to write to the person you should have written to first.
Might seem harsh but you need to do it properly from the beginning.
You might want to contact PALS (Patient Advice and Liason Service) in your area. I have the number for my local PALS but can't remember whether you're using Leeds or Bradford health authority so can't give you a number right now.
Each region has a medical council who deal with complaints about the NHS. I think you could obtain the telephone number for them by phoning directory enquiries or sometimes you can pick up forms from your local library, hospital or doctors surgeries.
Good Luck.
or will it be another 'we appreciate your concern, but the authority is under a lot of stress, blah, blah....'?
I've never heard of these medical councils.
I got a letter not long ago from an organisation that wanted me to go for a checkup to keep an eye on quality of the treatment i recently received that was dental stuff but i think they do it for the docs too.
I forget thier name though.:rolleyes:
unfortunately there is only one way to find out
i'm going private. i can't take it anymore.
i got a letter this morning (6 months after my initial referral) saying they had processed me according to priority, and in 17 weeks i would be contacted to see a specialist who would decide whether to put me on the waiting list (2 years long).
no fucking way. i would rather be in debt for the next 2 and a half years than on a waiting list and in pain for the next 2 and a half years.
it's beyond a joke.
after a pleasant chat with a BUPA secretary, who fell over herself trying to help, we got sorted out.
the guy i've been referred to on the NHS, who i have to wait 17 weeks just to be assessed by, will see me privately tomorrow evening.
all i needed to do was go to my dentist, and get them to give me a copy of the letter of referral to the dental hospital, and my latest x-rays. easy, right?
wrong.
i rang my dentists, and spoke to the dental receptionist lady at 12, who was very nice and helpful, and told me the nurse would speak to the dentist and ring me back at 2, when he came back from his lunch. she didn't. i rang back at 3 and she hung up on me.
i got my mum to ring (she's several times better at complaining) and she had a show down with the nurse. she said that they didn't have the x-rays, cause they'd been sent off to the dental hospital with my referral. she also said that she thought it was rude for us to go to BUPA, when the dentist had offered to take 3 of my teeth out for £150 (the one he couldn't take out is the only one that urgently needs taking out). my mum pointed this out to her and told her it was not of their concern where i choose to be treated, and if we could just have a letter of referral, we'll be on our way. she complained about this and went off to mumble to the dentist for a while. eventually they agreed to give me a referral letter, but said i'd have to pay for it. deciding to quit while we were ahead, we agreed.
so if x-rays need to be sent off with referrals, clearly my dentist never bothered to refer me back in april, when he said he had, as when we were in the dentists 3 weeks ago, they had the x-rays there, and they showed us them. it also means when my mum rang the dental hospital on the same day, and they said they couldn't find me on the list, they weren't lying. and it means i spoke to the dentists three times and they lied to me about me having been referred, despite me being in increasingly bad pain every time.
i also wonder, had we not been in 3 weeks ago demanding them to do something, if i would ever have been referred.
it seems i nearly complained about the wrong people.
in addition to that, when we spoke to the BUPA secretary, and the dental hospital records secretary (who works for the NHS) we were told that we should not be charged for a referral letter.
so yeah, as you can imagine, i'm pretty pissed off.
Not sure that would work, if anything it’s more likely that they would get security to escort you away. Unless medically you needed emeregncy treatment of course.
Depends. If your treatment is to correct some medical error then it’s possible, but not certain.
If you do it to avoid waiting then your chances of getting your money back are none.
Let me try to help, but I may be wrong on a couple of aspects because I am working from experience rather than the actual facts in your case
1. You cannot be sure that the initial referral actually happened. Although the referrer may have said that would do it, you cannot assume that they actually did. Sadly.
2. 17 weeks refers to the maximum wait for new outpatient appointments this year. It is possible, or even likely, that the actual wait is less. Unfortunately the NHS will not risk bad publicity and so won’t say “the wait is six weeks” just in case you personally have to wait longer and go to the press.
3. If the surgeon lists you for an operation at a hospital then the maximum wait is currently nine months, reducing to six by end March. If you wait more than five months then the hospital is obliged to offer you an operation at any one of four other health providers. This could be other hospitals nearby (or far away) and may include a private hospital.
I’m not sure that would help, because we have to reply within a set limit anyway, it’s one of our star rating targets.
All that would happen if you did this is that the top bod would just pass the letter on. Most complaint replies are signed by the top man anyway…
Otherwise, what Bumble said…
But for information, for any dental or GP complaint you should contact the GP/Dental practice directly first. If you cannot do that, won't do that or have already tried, then you should contact your local PCT who have responsibility for dealing with these complaints. They will have a named lead who will deal with things on your behalf.
I’m not sure what happened but sometimes pain is one of the effects of having treatment you know
And pain alone doesn’t make someone a priority – otherwise no-one would wait for a hip operation for example.
He did
i have been told that the rules for dental surgery are different, and it is quite usual (at least in the leeds area) to wait 2 years for wisdom tooth removal. apparently it's 'non-essential' and the NHS maximum wait guidelines do not apply.
i haven't had any treatment. in april i saw the dentist, who told me one of my wisdom teeth was infected, and he would refer me to the dental hospital to have them removed. i don't know what's happened since then, cause he refuses to see me, but i went to see my GP for advice, and she gave me painkillers, and told me although she was no expert on dentistry, and i shouldn't take her word as gospel, she guessed that the infection may have spread to other parts of my face and neck, and i should go back to my dentist asap. i tried. he said there was nothing he could do. my mum rang up. she shouted. they gave me a course of antibiotics which worked a treat until i'd been off them a few days, when the pain/fever came back with a vengeance. 3 weeks later i am in so much pain i haven't slept through a night since early july, i've lost almost a stone (that i really can't afford to lose) and if i want NHS treatment, i have to wait 17 weeks to be seen.
i appreciate this isn't the fault of the dental hospital, cause they x-rays they have are 5 months old, when my teeth weren't hurting at all, so they probably think i'm pretty low priority.
I think when you report to the medical council about something your not happy about they actually go and look into your concern and deal with it to your satisfacation. I have friend who contacted them and they dealt with it well.
What medical council is this?? If you mean the GMC then I'm surprised she got anywhere as they're full of red tape in order to protect 'their own kind'. It's what happens when body is self regulating.