Appointment management & cancellation policy

It is the aim of this practice to provide quality dental care to our patients and to use clinical time effectively, especially in today’s challenging times and with current restrictions. To achieve this aim, we have an appointment management and cancellation policy.

Management of appointments. Appointments can be made or rescheduled by calling the practice on 01445 712240 or emailing info@gairlochdentist.com

Cancellation or postponing of an appointment by the practice. We may need to cancel or postpone 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 postpone the appointment. We will explain the reason for the cancellation or postponing.

At the time of contact, the patient will be offered a new appointment at the earliest and most mutually convenient time available.

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: 01445 712240 or email info@gairlochdentist.com. Late cancellations and missed appointments will represent a cost to the practice and a loss in patient treatment care time. There is a fee for private and NHS dental appointments that are missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice. The fee would be:

Any missed appointments can be charged up to the full cost of the appointment. With a minimum charge of £15 per 15 minutes of booked surgery time.

It is our aim to telephone patients after a missed appointment to understand the reason for non- attendance and to inform them about any fee.

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.