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This report is of my investigation of a complaint about a dentist who has not put things right after he made mistakes. The dentist has failed to put things right even though he has been told to do so by a number of organisations that he should not ignore. Therefore, I am laying this report before Parliament under section 14 (3) of the Health Service Commissioners Act as I have found injustice arising from maladministration that has not and, it appears, will not, be remedied.
This is the first time I have laid a report under section 14 (3) of the Act since I became Health Service Ombudsman for England in 2002. By laying this report I am able to put into the public domain my investigation report, naming the dentist. I am also able to make public my disappointment that anyone providing a NHS service can have such disregard for a patient and her complaint.
The story is a simple one. Mrs D was unhappy about the behaviour of her dentist during an appointment in September 2007. The same month she complained to the Dental Practice.
Dissatisfied with the response to her complaint, she escalated her complaint to the Healthcare Commission, which at that time provided the second stage of the NHS complaints system. The Healthcare Commission investigated, upheld Mrs D’s complaint and made recommendations that the dentist should send written apologies to Mrs D about five issues. Mrs D did not receive the apologies so she contacted the General Dental Council, the professional regulatory body for dentists. The General Dental Council warned the dentist to follow recommendations of professional bodies.
Mrs D complained to me that she had not received the apologies from the dentist. I investigated and upheld Mrs D’s complaint. I recommended to the dentist that he apologise to Mrs D and pay her £500 compensation. In response to my draft report the dentist maintained that he had apologised to Mrs D. I disagreed. The dentist has told my staff that he will not make any payment to Mrs D. I issued my final report in March 2011, giving the dentist one month to comply with my recommendations. To date, he has not done so.
I considered that the dentist’s unwillingness to comply with the recommendations of the Healthcare Commission and the Ombudsman raised questions about his fitness to practise, sufficient to constitute a threat to the health and safety of patients. Therefore, in March 2011 I shared the report of my investigation with the General Dental Council. The General Dental Council is considering what action to take.
South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust urged the dentist to comply with my recommendations and are considering what further action to take.
For anyone who provides a NHS service to ignore recommendations arising from the NHS complaints system is a serious matter. I hope that making this story public provides the catalyst for the dentist to provide the long overdue remedy to Mrs D.
Ann Abraham
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
June 2011
