GWH Dental has developed a patient rights policy that relates to access, safety, respect, communication, participation, privacy and comment.
To view the full policy, please click here. A summary of the policy can be found below.
Appointments
GWH Dental aims to provide patients with appointments to meet their treatment needs. It is requested patients make an agreed appointment time/date to assist the scheduling process, notifying the practice where this appointment cannot be met. To assist you in providing us with this information we contact patients
- Telephone call reminder (all contact phone numbers tried)
- SMS reminder
- Email reminder
As much information as possible regarding the treatment is obtained from the patient when booking an appointment. Notes are made and relayed to clinical staff to help them prepare for the appointment. The information gained also helps the receptionist determine the length of time of an appointment.
Safety
GWH Dental aims to provide appropriate dental services in a safe, secure and supportive environment. We encourage patients and/or staff to raise any concerns they may have. If a concern is raised, all staff and management are required to address the concern as soon as possible.
All patients are required to complete a full medical history as accurately and completely as possible. It is extremely important that patients list all prescription and non-prescription medications such as herbs, vitamins and oils. This allows staff to identify any circumstances that may increase the risks associated with dental care.
GWH Dental has daily, weekly, biannual and annual maintenance to keep our equipment and processes running optimally and safely. This program includes all electrical and radiation equipment, autoclaves for sterilisation and the sterilisation process.
Respect
GWH Dental values all patients as a unique person and hope that at all times we can provide dental treatment in a manner that is respectful of their culture, beliefs, values and personal characteristics. Patients are asked to reciprocate this respect by being mindful of all staff at GWH Dental and other patients.
Communication and Decision Making
GWH Dental respects the patient’s right to receive adequate information to make informed decisions regarding their health and healthcare. Consequently, all staff should continually demonstrate a commitment to providing patients with accessible and understandable information about their treatment and treatment options, including costs, proposed medications and risks involved. This should also include maintaining suitable evidence that patients are fully informed about their proposed treatment and have been a partner in the development of their treatment plan. Such evidence will be monitored through GWH Dental’s review processes.
We do expect patients to actively participate in decision and choices about their treatment and dental needs. For extensive treatment plans we also encourage a patient to involve their family or carer in the decision making process.
Privacy
In accordance with the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988, the Dental Board of Australia’s Code of Conduct for Registered Health Practitioners, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner National Privacy Principles September 2001 a patient can expect that their personal health and other information will be collected, used, disclosed and stored in accordance with relevant laws about privacy, and that this information will remain confidential unless the law allows disclosure or the patient directs us to release the information.
Comment
A patient’s evaluation of the care received at our practice is an extremely important form of feedback that provides valuable information about the services we provide. We encourage patients to provide both positive and negative feedback.
