Cancellation and Missed Appointment Policy

Cancellation and Missed Appointments Policy

Our commitment to fair appointment scheduling

At Optima Dental Care, we are committed to providing high-quality dental care while ensuring that appointment times are managed fairly and efficiently for all patients.

When an appointment is booked, dedicated clinical time is reserved specifically for you. Missed appointments and cancellations at short notice can prevent other patients from receiving the dental care they need.

To help us maintain an efficient appointment system and minimise unnecessary waiting times, we kindly ask all patients to provide at least 24 hours’ notice if they need to cancel or rearrange an appointment.

We understand that unexpected circumstances can arise and will always aim to approach cancellations with fairness, understanding and consideration of individual circumstances.

Private dental appointments

Appointment deposits and cancellation charges

To secure private dental appointments, we require a deposit at the time of booking. This helps us reserve the necessary clinical time and resources for your treatment.

Our private appointment deposit and cancellation arrangements are as follows:

Private appointments with our dentists are generally scheduled for up to one hour, depending on the treatment required. Longer appointments, including implant surgery, are allocated additional clinical time.

Any deposit paid will be deducted from the total cost of treatment when the appointment is attended.

Cancelling or rearranging a private appointment

We kindly request a minimum of 24 hours’ notice if you wish to cancel or reschedule your private appointment.

• More than 24 hours’ notice: Your deposit may be refunded or transferred to a rearranged appointment.
  
• Less than 24 hours’ notice: Your deposit may be retained to cover the reasonable losses incurred by the practice as a result of the late cancellation.
  
• Failure to attend: If you do not attend your appointment without notifying us, your deposit may be forfeited, subject to our consideration of the circumstances and any costs we have reasonably avoided or recovered.

Any amount retained will be fair and proportionate to the loss incurred by the practice.

We appreciate that illness, medical emergencies and other exceptional circumstances may prevent you from attending. Where this occurs, please contact us as soon as reasonably possible. We will review your circumstances individually and may waive the cancellation charge or transfer your deposit to a future appointment.

NHS dental appointments

Missed appointments and late cancellations

NHS appointment availability is limited, and missed appointments can prevent other patients from accessing essential dental care.

We therefore require NHS patients to provide at least 24 hours’ notice when cancelling or rearranging an appointment.

Where an NHS patient fails to attend a scheduled appointment without adequate notice or a reasonable explanation, this may be recorded as a Failure to Attend (FTA).

Our practice follows a two-stage attendance policy:

First failure to attend (FTA)

If you miss an NHS appointment or cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice without an acceptable reason, this may be recorded as your first FTA.

You will be informed of the missed appointment and reminded of our cancellation policy.

Second failure to attend (FTA)

If a second appointment is missed or cancelled at short notice without an acceptable reason, we may review whether we can continue to offer you routine NHS appointments at the practice.

Following a fair review of your attendance history and individual circumstances, this may result in the practice declining further routine NHS appointments, in accordance with applicable NHS regulations and contractual requirements.

We will communicate any such decision clearly and explain the next steps available to you.

Exceptional circumstances

We recognise that unexpected events can sometimes make attendance impossible.

Short-notice cancellations may be excused where there are genuine exceptional circumstances, including:

• Sudden illness or a medical emergency.
• An unexpected hospital admission.
• A serious family emergency.
• Other unavoidable circumstances beyond your control.

Every situation will be considered individually. Patients are encouraged to contact the practice as soon as possible to explain their circumstances.

We will also take account of disabilities, communication needs, vulnerabilities and other relevant circumstances when considering missed appointments.

Please note: NHS patients will not be charged a cancellation fee or a missed appointment fee for NHS appointments.

How to cancel or rearrange an appointment

If you are unable to attend your appointment, please contact our reception team on 01628 777 552 as soon as possible.

Providing sufficient notice allows us to offer your appointment to another patient who may be waiting for treatment.

When contacting us, please provide your name, appointment date and time, and let us know whether you would prefer to cancel or rearrange your visit.

If you become unwell or experience an emergency within 24 hours of your appointment, please notify us as soon as reasonably possible so we can discuss the available options.

Thank you for your understanding

We value our patients’ time and appreciate your cooperation in helping us maintain an accessible, efficient and fair appointment system.

By giving us adequate notice when you cannot attend, you help ensure that valuable clinical time can be offered to other patients in need of dental care.

Thank you for helping us provide timely and considerate care to everyone at our practice.