Too focused on private referrals
Based upon my recent experience some dental staff simply don't give a damn about what is best for the patient, instead they seem to be far more interested in trying to persuade (or book without permission) a patient in to having private treatment instead of NHS treatment, or referring patients to expensive external private clinics.
When I raised my concerns directly with the dentist she dismissed my opinion and blamed me for not asking for her advice, which I had done previously. In fact SHE was supposed to have contacted ME weeks beforehand for a follow-up discussion but failed to do so as promised. When a so-called professional chooses to blame a patient that smacks of what has become a typical cowboy tactic.
Other staff failed as well by not following through with assurances regarding an overpayment taken in error and I ended up having to chase them twice for a refund. That is also poor service to expect a patient to do administration staffs’ jobs when they fail to. What on earth is going on here?
My overall impression is that certain dentists are free to do as they please and nobody is in charge, with no leadership and just weak excuses all around, so long as a profit is made for certain individuals.
Given my recent experiences I am considering very seriously changing to a different NHS dental practise even though it is twenty miles further away. My past experiences with this practise haven’t exactly been exceptional either, barely adequate in my opinion. It's a shame because I appreciate how hard it is to find an NHS dentist these days.