Emergency Arrangements

Dental emergencies can be extremely stressful and cause a lot of pain. If you do have a dental problem, please call us to make an appointment as soon as possible.

If your dental emergency occurs out of hours, help is always available through our on-call emergency rota, which is arranged with other dental practices in the local area. Please telephone the surgery and you will hear a message on the answer phone giving you the contact number of the dentist on call. All dental practices on the emergency rota are located within a 30-mile radius of Downham Market.

If you’re away from home and you’re a Denplan patient, you can call Denplan’s 24-Hour Worldwide Dental Emergency Helpline on 0800 844 999 (if calling from abroad, please telephone 0044 1962 844 999).

For further information on dental emergencies, please see the FAQ section of our website ‘What do I do if I have a dental emergency?’.

Appointments Policy

Patients arriving on time for appointments make a big difference in helping our practice run smoothly. One or two late patients can cause the entire daily schedule to fall behind. This is an inconvenience to everyone and is not fair to other patients who have attended punctually.

Please do everything you can to keep your appointment and tell us as soon as possible if you need to cancel it, so that we can offer the time to someone else who may be in urgent need of treatment. You should allow plenty of time to get to the surgery and check in for your appointment. If you are late, priority will be given to the patients who arrive on time. This may mean you will have a considerable wait or, if we cannot accommodate you, you will be asked to reschedule and a missed appointment fee may be applied.

We understand that your time is just as valuable as our own. We strive to see every patient as close to their allocated appointment times as possible. Occasionally the dentist may be delayed due to a dental emergency. If this happens we will inform you as soon as possible, with an estimation of the waiting time. If you are unable to wait we will reschedule to the earliest available appointment.

Appointment Reminders
Our appointment reminders are an additional service and are not used for every appointment. The onus remains with the patient to ensure they attend for their appointments.

Late Cancellations and Missed Appointments
In order to be respectful of other patient’s needs, we ask you to give us a minimum of 24 hours notice if you are unable to attend an appointment. This allows us the opportunity to offer the appointment to someone who is in urgent need of treatment.

Appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours notice may incur a cancellation fee. Missed appointments are charged at double the cancellation fee rate. A list of our cancellation/missed appointment fees is available from reception. Emails are not an accepted notification for cancellations.

This policy applies to all patients whether Private or Denplan.

Accessibility

• The practice is situated on the ground floor
• There are no internal steps or ramps.
• We have wheelchair access to the waiting room and both surgeries.
• We are Dementia Aware – we are proud to be part of Downham Market’s Dementia Friendly Community
• We have an ear loop system in place for hard of hearing patients.
• Guide dogs are allowed into the waiting room.
• Practice literature is available in large print (upon request)
• There is a free public car park directly opposite the practice which has four disabled parking bays.

Some of the equipment in our practice has weight tolerance limits. The safe weight limit of our dental chairs is 135kg (21 stones). To enable us to provide care for you safely, please advise a member of staff if your weight exceeds this.  We will try to help you with alternative arrangements for your dental care.

Please ask if you need any further advice or assistance on accessing our services.

Transport
There is a free, long stay public car park directly opposite the practice (next to Discover Downham Heritage) with a pedestrian crossing close by. There are also parking bays just after the surgery, on the right-hand side of the road, where you can park for up to 1 hour. Downham Market Train Station is a five-minute walk away, as is the bus station, which is situated by the side of Morrisons. Our two closest bus stops are in Priory Road (near Tesco’s) and Trafalgar Road. Please telephone reception for directions if you are unsure, we will be happy to help. Click here for our map location.

Confidentiality & Data Protection

The relationship between Dentist and patient is based on the understanding that any information revealed by the patient to the Dentist will not be divulged without the patient’s consent. The need for strict confidentiality of personal information about patients is taken very seriously and we comply with the Data Protection Act 2018.

We take great care with all the Personal Data we hold, to ensure we comply with best professional practice and with the law.  An information leaflet explaining what Personal Data the practice holds, why we hold and process it, who we might share it with, and your rights and freedoms under the Law, is available from Reception. You can also download it as a PDF file here > Data Protection Privacy Notice

Radiography Policy
When an X-ray is taken, the radiation used is potentially harmful. The radiation dose from a dental X-ray is extremely small and the risk is negligible. Nevertheless, X-rays will only be taken when clinically necessary, with your consent and following an explanation. Our X-ray machines are modern and comply with current guidelines. We have a contract with the Public Health England (PHE), who check the machines regularly to ensure that all is working as it should be. If you are worried about X-rays, please mention this to the Dentist.

Cross Infection Control
Your safety and the quality of your dental care is our top priority. We are committed to providing the highest standard possible and controlling the risk of infection from dental procedures is central to our standard protocols. We comply with the Essential Quality Requirements of HTM 01-05.

Zero Tolerance Statement
Our practice is committed to ensuring that the workplace is a safe and pleasant environment for staff and patients alike. We have a zero tolerance policy with regard to verbally or physically abusive behaviour. We reserve the right to remove any person who behaves in a verbally aggressive, violent or intimidating manner towards any member of staff, visitors or other patients.

Confidentiality, Complaints and Compliments
To read information on our confidentiality, complaints and compliments procedures, please click here.