Receiving a complaint, claim or GDC letter can leave dentists feeling overwhelmed. Hannah from Densura explains how the team provides dental complaints support, from gathering clinical records and arranging dento-legal advice to keeping policyholders informed.
For most dentists, a letter of complaint, a solicitor’s claim, or an envelope from the General Dental Council is one of the worst moments of their professional life. It’s daunting, it’s personal, and it can feel very lonely.
At Densura, the person many policyholders speak to first is Hannah, client advocacy lead in the advocacy team. Her job is to be the calm, capable voice on the other end of the phone – the one who turns a frightening situation into a manageable plan.
We sat down with Hannah to find out exactly what happens when a dentist picks up the phone to Densura, and why she loves doing the job she does.
Could you introduce yourself and your role at Densura?
My name’s Hannah. I’m the client advocacy lead for Densura, and I assist at the first point of contact with our dentists when they’ve received a complaint or a claim. I help facilitate arranging documentation and introduction to the dento-legal advisors.
You’re right at the very front of the business. When a dentist gets a complaint, how do they get help, and how do they get started?
First and foremost, it’s the most daunting experience for a dentist. In order to contact us, you can find contact details for the notifications department on the website by going to densura.com, or having a little look through the policy documentation – your policy schedule has a list of useful contacts within that information. You can contact us by telephone and by email.
We completely appreciate that receiving a complaint can be the worst feeling in the world. I always say to our policyholders, try not to worry too much at this stage. I always look at complaints like a bit of a puzzle that we must piece together, and I explain to them that we will get them to support and we are absolutely on their side.
When a dentist knows they’ve got a complaint and they’re going to need help from Densura, what should they provide right at the beginning of a matter?
The first step is the complaint correspondence and the clinical records. The clinical records give us a full background of the treatment and any follow-up care, but they also allow us to understand the dates of the treatment – we have our own checks to complete to make sure there’s cover in place at the material times of the incident, or the treatment in question.
The clinical records add invaluable data and information to allow the dento-legal advisors to understand that story and form a view to enable them to provide that advice. We pride ourselves on the quality of advice our dento-legal advisors provide, so it’s really important that dentists prepare this documentation from the outset.
What if a dentist is in a situation that feels quite urgent – maybe they’ve got a patient coming in later that day and they just want to talk to somebody? How can we help with that?
I look at things like that from a risk management perspective. I’ll go through the details of the concerns, ascertain whether or not that patient is due in that day. If there’s an opportunity to get those clinical records at an early stage, we will. If not, again, it’s about risk assessing – is there any immediate medical emergency associated with the situation that needs an urgent clinical opinion?
We will always do what we can to help in times of emergencies. Densura are always on your side, and we will do what we can to make sure a dentist feels heard before the end of the day.
You ask for a lot of information – detailed records, radiographs, correspondence, the complaint letter. Why do you need so much information so quickly, and how does it help the dento-legal advisor?
It’s about piecing together a puzzle. A dentist may remember certain things from an appointment many months later that differ to the clinical records. The clinical records are contemporaneous – they were written in live time during that appointment – so we’ll have that full story from the outset. It helps our dento-legal advisors review everything and provide the most appropriate, bespoke advice.
If you’re asking for clinical records and X-rays, is it okay for a practice manager to help a dentist and send that material to you?
I fully understand that some practices work very differently in ways of authority to accessing the records. Some dentists might not be able to download records, and the authority might only rest with the practice manager. I tend to say, as standard, to a lot of dentists that call me: ‘I’m going to email you a full list of the information that we need – feel free to forward it to your practice manager. I’m sure they would be more than happy to assist, and arrange dispatch to me as soon as possible.’
Sometimes a claim can take months or even years to progress, which is frustrating. How do you ensure clients are kept up to date with what’s happening and what the progress of that claim is?
Claims can often bubble on in the background for a very long time, and it’s the most frustrating, unsettling and upsetting period of time for a dentist. We completely appreciate that. They sometimes feel alone in situations like that, because updates can often be few and far between, depending on the progress of the case, the claimant solicitor, and whether there are any other dentists or co-defendants involved.
As the advocacy team, we always ensure there’s a rolling diary on our claims, so we’re constantly seeking updates from insurers, finding out the latest position. Whatever the update is, no matter how big or how small, either the dento-legal advisor or someone from the advocacy team will reach out and update the policyholder. Sometimes those updates may seem a little confusing, and that’s absolutely fine – we’re just a phone call away, and we’re more than happy to talk things through to make sure the understanding is there.
If a dentist gets a letter from the GDC, what happens, and how can they get help?
The GDC process can involve a few different types of letters. There are two very early-stage letters. One’s called an Initial Inquiries Pilot, and the other is a generalised Request for Records. They differ slightly – the Initial Inquiries Pilot will only ask you for a copy of the patient records, or it might just say we’ve received concerns, we don’t need anything from you, we will review and come back to you in due course.
The Request for Records involves sending records, copies of your indemnity history certificates and working arrangements – you usually have around seven days to provide that information. The GDC will then review everything and come back with any outcome, whether they want to investigate further or not.
And once a dentist or policyholder has received that letter from the GDC, does the same notification process apply?
Yes – do contact the Densura complaints and advocacy team as soon as physically possible. We will review, arrange to ask for all of the relevant records and any previous complaint correspondence, and get you in touch with a dento-legal advisor. We’ll continue to support you throughout the process, and advise you appropriately on what information you need to gather and send to the GDC.
Who else can dentists turn to for support?
We always say do rely on support from your practice managers, friends and family. When times do feel quite heavy, we also include within our policies a counselling helpline that’s completely confidential – it’s just that extra layer of support, should they feel they need it, and I think it’s a really, really good benefit to have; this benefit is not limited to work related matters, any of our Densura policyholders and their families can use this helpline for personal matters too.
Whilst our team here at Densura will do absolutely everything, I tend to say to dentists quite a lot: I know these situations feel incredibly heavy and isolating – just please feel free to ring me. Whilst I can’t help clinically, I am that moral support on the front end, so please do reach out.
You’re obviously very experienced in this role, and dentists are lucky to have you on the front line. How did you get to this point, and what’s your background?
“I’ve got an extensive background in complaints management, in a couple of large dental corporate groups. I’ve done around eight years in complaints management, assisting predominantly practices at practice level – explaining how the complaint process should work and ensuring the process is in compliance with the General Dental Council standards, specifically Principle Five, and how a dentist needs to manage in accordance with those standards.
I came to a point where I really decided I just wanted to help dentists. I’ve always loved dealing with complaints and tricky situations, but I felt like there was a time I didn’t feel very valuable to dentists, and I really wanted to explore that route – to understand a bit more about the dentist journey when receiving a complaint, because I did know it can be quite isolating, and I wanted to see if I was able to make a difference with that. So I decided to explore my career with a dental indemnity provider, and that’s how I’ve ended up with Densura.
Finally, what does support mean to you as an advocacy team member?
Support means an awful lot, especially to the wider advocacy team. We support each other in ways that are really quite admirable. Between our small team and the dento-legal advisors, we lean on each other, and I think that really does show with our policyholders. If we don’t know the answer to something, but we’re very aware that a dentist really needs some urgent advice, we will make sure we find the answer, or arrange someone that does.
The job doesn’t just end once a complaint response has been provided to a dentist – it’s about risk managing the situations before us. Risk management as a whole is such an important thing in the world of dental indemnity. We want to support our dentists to make them the very best dentists they can continue to be. We’re always pushing and encouraging each other – policyholders, dentists and colleagues.
I’m just proud to be able to work for Densura. Being able to say that we support, both professionally and personally – that’s a really big thing.
If you need us
Whether it’s a complaint, a claim, or a letter from the GDC, the process starts the same way: contact the Densura complaints and advocacy team as soon as you can, by phone or email – details are on your policy schedule or at densura.com. Have your clinical records, correspondence and any radiographs ready to send across, and someone like Hannah will take it from there.
As Hannah puts it: you’re never alone.
This article is sponsored by Densura.
