A complaint at the desk, a note on a pad
A patient complains at reception about a fee they did not expect. Another emails the practice about waiting time. A third leaves a review online that is clearly a complaint. Each is handled by whoever received it. Some are written in a complaints book, some are forwarded to the practice manager, and one is dealt with verbally and never recorded.
Your practice has a complaints procedure, with steps and target response times. Following it depends on someone remembering to start the clock.
Complaints that start online are the hardest to track. A review may not name the patient, and working out who it is, and whether they have also rung or written, takes time that nobody has set aside.
Why complaints handling drifts
- Complaints come in by several routes, and not all are recognised as complaints.
- Nobody is clearly responsible for recording each one.
- Target dates in your procedure are tracked manually.
- Letters, notes and emails are kept in different places.
- Learning points are discussed but not written down.
What drifting complaints cost
A late or missing response turns a small complaint into a bigger one. Patients escalate. The practice cannot show how complaints were handled when asked. And the same issues recur because nothing links one complaint to the next.
Most complaints at a dental practice are about ordinary things: a fee that was not explained, a long wait, a phone that was not answered. Handled quickly and courteously they are often resolved in one conversation. It is the delay, more than the original issue, that makes them grow.
How we build the complaints log
- A simple form any team member can use to record a complaint in a minute, from the desk, a phone or an email forward.
- Each complaint follows the stages in your practice's procedure: acknowledged, investigating, response sent, closed. Target dates are calculated from the rules you set.
- The owner, usually the practice manager, is notified and reminded before each target date.
- Letters, emails, notes of calls and any relevant documents are stored with the complaint.
- Response letters are drafted from your templates. If you want, a model can suggest a first draft from the notes for the manager to edit, never to send unchecked.
- At closure, the outcome and any learning are recorded, with an optional action for the team.
- A summary shows complaints by type, stage and age, and themes over time.
| Stage | Owner | What the log does |
|---|---|---|
| Received | Whoever took it | Records it and notifies the manager |
| Acknowledged | Practice manager | Reminds before your target date |
| Investigation | Manager and clinicians | Keeps notes and documents together |
| Response | Practice manager | Drafts from your template |
| Closed | Practice manager | Records outcome and learning |
Your complaints procedure and responses are your practice's responsibility. We build tracking around the procedure you give us and do not give advice on handling complaints.
Every complaint accounted for
Every complaint is recorded, however it arrived. The practice manager sees everything open and when each step is due. When asked how complaints are handled, the practice can show the full history. And recurring themes become visible, which is where the real improvements come from.
Clinicians benefit too. When a complaint involves their treatment, they can see the notes, the correspondence and the stage in one place instead of hearing about it in passing. And at team meetings, the practice manager can talk about themes without naming individuals, using the summary.
Is this how complaints are handled at your practice?
- Complaints are recorded in a book or spread across inboxes.
- Target dates depend on memory.
- Correspondence for one complaint is in several places.
- You cannot see themes across complaints.