Challenging missed dental appointment charges and refusal of treatment

Sambucus_Nigra

So you know the bus service is bad, and you still don't get there early....and still continue to blame everyone else but yourself.

property.advert

When I go to the dentist I get pain in my wallet as he alleviates the pain in my mouth. If people like the OP were more responsible then my pain would be less.

Additionally, the OP cannot have been very responsible for years or they would not need dozens of NHS funded visits to the dentist and would have taken better care of their teeth.

To blame a bus service, with a timetable, is pathetic.

jugglebug

Bethrezen wrote: »

first off that's not true my old doctors in Liverpool ran a first come first served open access system where you could just drop in when ever and that actually worked very well and was popular with patients because they could go see the doctor when ever was required no appointment necessary



if the patient fails to show for a second time on the same day then fine them or kick them off the books at least that way you are giving the person a fair chance first



or another suggestion would be to run an open access system like the one my doc’s in Liverpool ran where people can just come in no appointment necessary so long as they don’t need extensive work so the sort of people who would benefit from that would be people who maybe only need a filling which only takes about 10 or 20 mins to do tops granted this system would be limited in the number of people you could see in a day by the number of staff available to participate but it could work



I don't expect everyone to agree with me but it doesn't mean I'm wrong

Open access doesn't really work in dentistry. You see a filling that "only takes XX minutes" However I see the time it takes to reprocess that set of instruments to make it fit for use again.
We need to structure our days to take account of that. Have a google for the document HTM0105. That is the guidance issued to us to follow in this regard. Shouldn't take you long to read, it's only 108 pages long. Practically we can't keep a whole days worth of instruments ready to go. there are just too many permutations of procedures to carry out.

You know what, in life I don't expect everyone to agree with me either... However if nobody agrees with me I may look at my decision again

Nan_Nan

I agree you should pay, bad manners the amount of times I have tried to get dentist appointments/doctors apps and then when you do go it shows the amount of people who have not turned up

hollybabes

I had an appointment on Tuesday for my 2 children but for some unknown reason I thought it was Wednesday ( I realised this as I was double checking the time to be there on Wednesday ) so I rang up to appologise as I felt really bad about it. They informed me that my children had missed an appointment in 2008 so they wouldn't treat them anymore. I DO understand about missed appointments being a waste of dentist time and money BUT I think this decision is very harsh.... it was a genuine mistake and now my kids are being punished for MY mistake also.

mandy666

hi , i missed an appointment at the dentist an now there charging me £ 30 , im not working an on benifit can they charge me this ?

brook2jack

If it is a nhs dentist in Scotland or NI yes they can charge you. If it is for a private appointment yes they can charge you anywhere.

Credit-Crunched

So the dentist should schedule your FREE appointment around your day which consists of no work and FREE money from the state.

I would issue a courts summons for the fee due and de-register your from my practice.

No wonder you are unemployed with your attitude, no one owes you a living.

So grow up, man up and leave home early!

Simples

Bipedalhominid

I was on my way to keep a dental appointment a year or so ago. My dentist was situated about 25 miles from where I then lived. I could not find a dentist closer to me as they are in short supply in north Scotland. My journey was in my car. Weather warnings were amber. There had been serious rainfall during the night, it was still raining and local flooding was an issue. I called the dentist before setting out to make them aware of the difficulties I might run into e route, and that I would not know if I would be able to make it or not unless I had a go. I set out and along my journey the road was too flooded to pass. There were no alternative routes. I called the dentist to tell them I could not get through the flood, furthermore I would risk becoming stranded on my return. When the receptionist said they were going to charge me for missing the appointment I refused to pay. Not all appointments can be kept. Brethrezen is right about that.

blustruck

I too missed an appointment a couple of weeks ago. I had every intention to go to it then my car broke down the day before. Not only did I not have the transport but I needed to sort out getting my car fixed as I am a single parent and I need it for everything really. I rang my dentist immediately to try and avoid any inconvenience for them and they promptly informed me I will be charged £20 as I have not given 24 hours notice!
I did give them around 20 hours notice (so still the day before) and the circumstances were completely out of my control. I have never missed an appointment and like the op I only receive benefits and a little from a part time job which incidentally I need my car for. I have already had to fork out to the garage for the repairs and I just want to know if there are any grounds to contest this fine for being unlucky? A template letter would be ideal if anyone knows if any exist online?
Many thanks in advance for any help.