We ask for your help.
We’ve been looking at our records, and we know that in less than six months well over a thousand patients have missed appointments.
Please consider other patients, and be sure to let us know when you won’t be able to attend your appointment. We can then contact patients available to attend at short notice. Also, if we know there’s an opening in the schedule, we can offer more patients emergency treatment.
To help us to achieve our aim, please be aware of our appointment cancellation policy:
- Patients are requested to give at least 24 hours notice to cancel a dental appointment.
- Cancellations should be made:
- by telephone on: 01752 663870
- or by email to: plymouth@spadental.co.uk
- There is a fee for private dental appointments that are missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours notice.
- The missed appointment charge is based on the current rate of £1/minute for the length of the scheduled appointment. (eg: if your appointment was made for twenty minutes, the missed appointment charge is £20).
- If three NHS dental appointments are missed, or cancelled with less than 24 hours notice, patients can be de-registered. We do not guarantee being able to complete a patient’s NHS treatment, or further NHS treatment in the future.
- If you lose your NHS registration with SpaDental Plymouth, you will have to register on the NHS waiting list for an alternative practice.
- We aim to telephone or write to patients after a missed appointment. We do so to understand the reason for your non-attendance and also to inform you of your registration status or missed fees.
- Any appeals about decisions relating to missed or cancelled appointments should be made in writing to the Practice Manager.
Remember: please let us know if you need to cancel your Plymouth dental appointment.
Failed appointments are a problem. The GDPUK reports that 71% of people polled support fines for patients who miss appointments to boost NHS funding.