Clayhall Dental Care

Appointment Booking Policy

APPOINTMENT BOOKING POLICY

Deposits, Cancellations and Non-Attendance

Introduction

It is the aim of the practice to provide high quality dental and oral hygiene care to our patients and to use our clinical time effectively.

When we book an appointment for you, we commit that time and our resources to your treatment. This means that, if anyone else wants to come at the same time, we will be unable to see them and will have to offer them an alternative time. If you do not then attend that appointment and either do not tell us in advance or give sufficient notice of cancellation, we are then unable to allocate the time to someone else; however, we still have overheads and staff salaries to pay during the unproductive time.

For this reason, it is our policy to request deposits and make a charge if insufficient notice of cancellation or amendment is given.

Appointment Deposit Policy

To ensure commitment and reduce missed appointments, we require a deposit for all appointments, including private treatments, new private examinations and hygienist appointments

A deposit will be taken at the time of the booking, which will be applied towards your treatment. The amount of deposit required will be communicated with you and will vary according to the type of appointment.

This deposit is required to secure your appointment slot. 

Cancellation and Rescheduling

If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please contact us at least 48 hours in advance.  Your deposit will be transferred to your new appointment or refunded in full if you do not rebook.

PLEASE NOTE

  • Cancellations or rescheduling an appointment within less than 48 hours of the appointment will result in your deposit being forfeited.
  • If you need to cancel or re-arrange an appointment, this can be done by calling the practice, leaving a voicemail, via our website or sending an email.

Failure to Attend an appointment

If you do not show up for your appointment and fail to provide notice, your deposit will be forfeited.  Repeated no-shows may result in full payment in advance for any future bookings.

NHS Appointments

Under NHS regulations we are unable to charge NHS patients who fail to attend their appointments or who cancel at short notice (less than 48 hours’ notice is insufficient notice).

However, we reserve the right to ask a patient to find another dental practice if they continue to miss appointments.

If two NHS dental appointments are missed or cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice, within a 3-year period, we do not guarantee being able to complete a patient’s NHS treatment or offer them NHS treatment in the future.

Appointment Reminders

Please note that although we normally send text and email message reminders prior to any appointments, the successful delivery of these relies on our text provider, your mobile network provider, and your phone. Therefore, are not guaranteed to reach you. You should not rely on our text message service as a sole reminder of your appointments.

Any appeals about missed or cancelled appointment decisions by a patient should be made in writing to the Practice Manager.  It is important to note that the practice’s decision to uphold will be final

This policy is designed to ensure fairness and commitment from both parties. By booking an appointment and paying a deposit, you agree to the terms outlined above.

If you have any questions, please ask a reception team member.

Thank you for your co-operation.