Appointment Cancellation & Missed Appointment Policy
It is the aim of this practice to provide quality dental care to our patients on schedule and to use clinical time effectively. To achieve this, we have an appointment cancellation and missed appointment policy.
Minimum Notice – Two Full Working Days
We require a minimum of 48 hours’ notice (two full working days) to cancel, change or move a dental appointment.
Providing sufficient notice allows us to reallocate the appointment to another patient, including those who may be in urgent need of care. It also helps us run an efficient appointment system, minimise wasted treatment time and keep waiting lists down.
Cancellation of an appointment with less than two full working days’ notice usually means that we are unable to reallocate the appointment to another patient. This results in lost treatment time, while staffing costs and practice overheads still need to be covered.
Late Cancellation / Failed Attendance Policy
A fee will automatically be added to your account for private dental appointments that are missed or cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice.
The fee is based on the length of the appointment. For example, a 30-minute missed or late-cancelled appointment will incur an £80 charge.
We understand that sometimes cancellations cannot be avoided due to illness, emergencies or other unforeseen circumstances. Exceptional circumstances will always be taken into consideration.
How to Cancel Your Appointment
If your appointment becomes inconvenient, please contact us as soon as possible.
You can cancel or change your appointment by:
- Calling the practice on 01977 682573. If we are unable to answer, please leave a message and we will call you back.
- Emailing us at info@elmetdentalcare.com.
Understanding
Whilst charges will not fully cover the cost of lost treatment time, they help us to pay our team and partly cover our practice overheads. This helps us to avoid raising our prices unnecessarily.
We appreciate your understanding of our late cancellation policy and the part it plays in helping us run an efficient appointment system.
We will always take exceptional circumstances into account if the unforeseen happens and you need to cancel an appointment at short notice.
If you would like us to consider exceptional circumstances associated with a late cancellation or failure to attend, please write to us within 7 days of the appointment date, outlining the circumstances and enclosing any supporting evidence where appropriate.
In the meantime, any applicable fees must be settled as outlined above to prevent further charges from being incurred while your request is being considered.
Each case will be considered individually, and we will contact you within 28 days to inform you of the outcome.
We thank you for your cooperation and understanding. By giving us sufficient notice when you are unable to attend, you help us make appointments available to other patients and maintain an efficient, high-quality service.