To appeal being thrown off the dentist nhs register

[Redgreenred10]

Been with my dentist 30 years. This afternoon I had an appointment and this morning I tested positive for covid. Now I know you don’t have to test anymore but my best friends daughter has complex disabilities and covid could be fatal so my best friend has provided her family and friends with covid test and just asks if we can a quick test before we come round. I was due to go round after the dentist.

now the dentist is still really anal re covid and a few days before sent me a questionnaire asking if I had any symptoms and if I did my appointment would have to be cancelled.

So after testing positive i rang the dentist 6 times and could not get through so I left a message explaining.

I have just received a message saying due to missing my appointment I am now removed from the NHS register. Basically for following their own guidelines. I have tried to ring again (can’t get through) so I have sent an email.

trying to get through to the dentist is a nightmare. You are are kept on hold for 1
minute and then you are passed through to the message service. I rang 6 times before leaving a message so I really tried to get in touch

I think yabu. You've missed 2 appointments in 3 years. There will be a waiting list.

You must have a very boring life if the OP's life strikes you as dramatic based on those two incidents!

The last time I was at the dentist there was a woman arguing her case with the practice manager because she had been taken off the list because she had missed her appointment.

She was telling them that she had turned up to her appointment but when she got there the building was closed because it was Good Friday and the practice manager was saying 'yes, I understand that but it was your responsibility to check to see if we were open and you should have changed your appointment'. 🤯🤯🤯

Unfortunately I missed the end of the hoo-haa.

My guess is that those questionnaires are just a hangover from right after the pandemic. Interested to hear if you had any symptoms and if you did, would you have still gone if your test was negative?

Only on mumsnet would someone not only think but express something this mental lol.

How silly.

Which of these two situations do you think she should have avoided (or rescheduled to a time that didn’t clash with her dentist appointment)?

1. Having a stroke
2. Having covid

Peak MN madness right there.

You can try but I’m not sure how far you will get. All NHS dentists can fill their lists several times over and seemingly many now adhere to the one strike and your out rule, regardless of the background situation.

This is a classic 'ask to speak to the manager' situation. In this case, I would just ring them and ask to speak to someone senior, it is more likely to be resolved with a conversation. There may be no need for an 'appeal'.

I've gone over my missed appointment limit but profuse apologies have prevented me from getting kicked.

Is it part of a chain such as mydentist?

I'd have tested for Covid the day before ( although as OP demonstrate she had symptoms then there really was no need) so I could give 24 hours notice. And I don't know any dentist without a receptionist, so not being able to get through sounds a bit of an excuse.

I had similar when I booked my son in to see the orthodontist - did it online and was suspicious when it offered me a 7pm appointment. Luckily I called to check and they sorted it for me, I think they would have been ok anyway but still!!!

I wouldn't panic - most likely the message is automatic when you're listed as a non attender, and when they catch up on the messages they'll realise. Just contact them again by email/walk in and explain

I go to a very nice private dentist that until recently price matched their checkups with the NHS. They have now increased their prices slightly, but only by about £10 per checkup. Have a look around your area to see if something similar is on offer.

Obviously the overall affordability depends if you tend to need work doing. If you regularly need treatment I am not sure how the costs would stack up versus the NHS.

You were supposed to rearrange having your stroke until after being at the dentist of course 😏 hope you manage to get it sorted and get seen by the dentist soon

This will just be an automated response to a missed appointment. As soon as you explain what has happened they will put you back on their patient register I wouldn't worry.

That's great if you can afford it. I certainly can't nor can millions of others on a regular basis.

I didn’t have a choice, there are no NHS dentists in our area, and I am not wealthy at all, not in the least bit, it’s £15 per month. People living on low wages routinely spend more than that on their monthly mobile bill, but yeah…

Exactly the same happened to DH and they would of budge. It's all to get rid of NHS patients to prioritise and for more people to go private.

It's a disgrace and one which the current government needs to get control of.

Once they find arbitrary reasons to remove their NHS clientele they can then go fully private. It's happening to everyone and they get away with it.

I hope you can find another dentist.

Laughing at dramatic life
This year I've had tonsillitis twice, severe food poisoning (a&e), 2 trips to hospital for periods and something else I can't remember
I had to cancel a tattoo appointment, a contact lens one and a dentist appointment
My life must be way past drama

My last dentist got rid of the receptionist and dental nurses had to answer the phone between appointments. I went in person to get an emergency appointment as couldn’t get a reply.

The OP didn’t have symptoms, she tested because she was visiting someone with complex medical issues. The OP also never said the dentist didn’t have a receptionist, she said she couldn’t get through. My doctor has a receptionist and I frequently have to leave a message.

You are not registered with a dentist in the same way you are registered with a GP. It's up to the practice whether they treat you or not from appointment to appointment, and with the very high demand for NHS slots dentists can afford to be picky about who they prioritise. By all means explain and beg forgiveness but I wouldn't hold out too much hope. Round here (expensive SE) it costs dentists money to treat NHS patients so I can understand why some have a one-strike-and-you're-out rule.

Something similar happened to me recently. I missed an appointment because I was rushed into hospital because of an incident with my disability. Got kicked off the list for that.

I'm fuming both because I feel discriminated against for being disabled and because the only reason I needed the appointment in the first place was to repair a filling they'd made a complete hash of.

I'm not bothering to appeal because they were shit in the first place.