Clinical treatment outside hospital; Dentist : A Dental Practice in the area of Hywel Dda University Health Board

Mrs A complained about a Dentist in the area of Hywel Dda University Health Board (“the Dentist). She said that inaccurate information provided during an appointment in June 2019 led her to believe that her daughter’s application for NHS orthodontic treatment had been declined due to her not meeting the Index of Treatment Need. Mrs A said that, on the basis of this information, she made the decision to seek private treatment. Mrs A said that in September 2021 the NHS informed her that the application had been declined due to the Dentist’s failure to provide the correct paperwork for the application to be processed.

The Ombudsman found that there was no evidence to support that Mrs A was at any time informed that the reason the application was declined was due to an administrative error on the part of the Dentist. She also found that the complaint response issued to Mrs A by the Dentist made no reference to the June 2019 appointment at all. Further, she found that information contained within Mrs A’s daughter’s records was inaccurate. The Ombudsman concluded that there was evidence of maladministration and poor record keeping on the part of the Dentist, and that Mrs A’s decision to seek private treatment for her daughter was made on the basis of inaccurate information provided to her in June 2019.

The Ombudsman sought and gained the Dentist’s agreement to apologise to Mrs A and to reimburse her for the private treatment costs (£1800) incurred in respect of her daughter’s orthodontic treatment.