Respecting your time and ours

Cancellation of an appointment with less than 48 hours’ notice usually means that we are unable to re-allocate the time to other patients. This leads to lost treatment time, which can then only be covered by increasing charges to our patients.​

 

Running an efficient appointment system where patients give us notice if they are unable to attend a dental appointment, means we minimise wasted treatment time and can keep waiting lists down.

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We kindly ask that you give us as much notice as possible if you need to change or cancel your appointment.

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48-hour minimum notice period

We aim to be fair to our patients and widely publicise our cancellation policy, which requires 48 hours notice to cancel or move an appointment. This information is displayed in our waiting area, published on our website and printed on all of our treatment plans. If you cancel an appointment at short notice a charge will be automatically added to your account as outlined in our “Late cancellation & Re-booking policy”.​

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We ask for 48 hours notice to change, cancel or move an appointment as this gives us an opportunity to re-allocate the time to another patient. We also print and prepare day-lists 48 hours in advance, so a cancellation at shorter notice means we need to reprint complete day lists and potentially lose valuable treatment time, which along with our staffing costs and overheads still has to be funded.

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Late cancellations and missed appointments

In the first instance of a late cancellation, we will give you the opportunity to rearrange the appointment and simply pay a fee depending on the appointment length (up to £2 per minute) to cover administration & running costs.​

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Emergencies and exceptional circumstances

We appreciate that unexpected situations can arise. If you are unable to attend due to an emergency, please contact the practice as soon as possible and we will always aim to be understanding and fair.

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Thank you

We appreciate your understanding of our late cancellation policy in helping to run an efficient appointment system. We will always take exceptional circumstances associated with a late cancellation into account. Simply write to us within 7 days of the appointment date, outlining these circumstances and enclosing any supporting evidence. In the meantime, all late cancellation fees must be settled as outlined above for us to consider this, and to prevent you incurring further charges.​

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Each case will be considered individually, and we will contact you within 28 days informing you of the outcome, if necessary, crediting any fees incurred and paid.