Smart Dental Care - Patient Responsibility Charter and Patient Booking Fee Policy

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• Booking Fee Requirement:
  • All patients including NHS, Independent, Essentials and Private are required to pay a booking fee to secure their routine or emergency appointment and is paid at the time of making the appointment via the reception team, or the self booking app or on the website. This amount will be deducted from the total cost of the treatment upon attendance.
  • NHS patients will be required to pay a £10 booking fee at the time of booking. Patients eligible for exemption will be refunded their booking fee upon attending their appointment.
  • Northern Ireland patients are required to pay a £10 booking fee for their appointment. If they fail to attend without providing at least 48 hours’ notice, they will forfeit the booking fee and be charged an additional £1 per minute of wasted appointment time. For example, missing a 30-minute appointment will result in an additional £20 charge, making the total penalty £30 (£10 booking fee + £20 missed time charge).
• Before You Arrive at Your Appointment:
  • Please arrive at least 10 minutes early to complete any necessary paperwork before your appointment.
  • In most cases, Medical History Forms or NHS FP17 forms or equivalent forms will be sent electronically in advance to allow you as the patient to complete online before arriving o save time for both you and the reception team.
• Arriving Late to Your Appointment:
  • If you arrive more than 5 minutes late, you may not be seen, and your appointment may be cancelled as a short-notice cancellation.
  • · If you anticipate being late, please call the practice as soon as possible to discuss options and avoid a wasted journey.

• Cancellations and No-Shows:
  • Patients must provide at least 48 working hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule an appointment.
  •  Failure to provide 48 working hours' notice will result in the loss of the booking fee.
  • · Patients who do not attend their appointment without prior notice will forfeit their booking fee.

• Repeat Non-Attendance Policy:
  • If a patient fails to attend two or more appointments within an 18-month period due to no-shows or short-notice cancellations, their registration with the practice will be terminated.
  • Once removed, the patient will no longer have access to services at the practice and will need to seek alternative dental care or rejoin as a private patient.
  • If a deregistered patient requires an emergency appointment, they will only be seen as a private patient, and a £50 prepayment will be required.
• Appointment Reminders

To support patients in attending their appointments, the practice will endeavour to send the following reminders:

• • One week before the scheduled appointment.
  • Two days before the appointment.
  • A telephone reminder one day before the appointment.

• • How ever, it is the Patient’s sole Responsibility to:
  • Attend their scheduled appointment on time.
  • Provide at least 48 working hours’ notice if they need to cancel or reschedule.
  • Notify the practice of cancellations or changes by:

We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to this policy, as it helps minimise disruptions and ensures appointment availability for all our patients.

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