Dental practice did not tell patient why it stopped treating him

What happened

Mr F said that his Dental Practice refused to carry out a specialist dental procedure, which he believed should have been done under the NHS. He said that when he raised concerns about this, the Practice, without giving him any warning, decided to stop treating him completely. He said he was both shocked and distressed by this.

Mr F said that as a result of being denied any dental treatment, both his oral health and his general health deteriorated which caused him significant pain and discomfort. Mr F also said that when he complained to his local primary care trust (PCT), it supported the Practice.

What we found

We partly upheld this complaint. The dentists at the Practice did not have the necessary skills or equipment to carry out the specialist treatment. Also Mr F could not have the work done under the NHS, as it could only be done privately. Dentists said they explained this to him but he refused to accept their explanations. They gave him options for NHS treatment instead of the specialist treatment, but he refused this. Initially the dentists continued to treat him for other procedures but they eventually concluded that, from their perspective, the relationship with Mr F had broken down.

After discussing the situation with the PCT, the Practice decided to stop treating Mr F. However, due to some confusion over who would communicate this to him, the Practice did not tell Mr F about this decision.

Although Mr F's care and treatment was appropriate, the Practice failed to inform him that it was going to stop treating him, and so we upheld this part of the complaint.

We found no failings in the PCT's response to Mr F's complaint, as the specialist treatment was not available under the NHS. The PCT (now the Area Team) also adequately handled Mr F's complaint and so we did not uphold his complaint about the PCT.

Putting it right

Following our investigation, the Practice wrote to Mr F and apologised for its failure to inform him about the decision to stop treating him.