Failed Appointment Policy

Introduction

It is the policy of this practice that any NHS patient who misses 2 consecutive appointments or 3 appointments in total will be delisted from the practice.

Failed appointments waste clinical time and prevent other patients from seeing the dentist. For this reason, we ask that you cancel your appointment with 24 hours notice so that we can use that appointment for someone else who needs it. If you cannot give 24 hours notice because your appointment is on a Monday or you have suddenly become ill, please call before 9am to cancel. We do take into consideration individual circumstances should there be a very valid reason an appointment has been missed i.e.; accident/ family incident.  

If you attend more than 10 minutes late for your appointment, this will be classed as a failed appointment and you will not be seen that day. Attending late means the dentist will run late for their other patients that day, which is not fair for anyone. Please give yourself enough time for travel and parking before your appointment. Phoning the practice to tell us you are on your way does not change this policy.

You will not be offered further appointments with the practice if you have:

• Failed to attend 2 consecutive appointments
• 2 or more failed appointments or short notice cancellations in a three year period
• Not attended the practice at all in a three year period

If the receptionist explains that we are no longer able to provide you with dental services because of failure to attend for appointments it is because they are adhering to practice policy.

Patients are no longer registered to a practice since April 2006, however practices can continue to offer dental services to a patient, or choose to stop dental services to a patient for specific reasons such as failed appointments. If you wish to discuss any retraction of dental services to you as a patient please ask to speak to the practice manager on 01792 472248 or email on enquiries@crescentdentalswansea.co.uk. We have a zero tolerance approach to any patients who are rude and/or abusive to any member of staff.

This policy adheres to the failed appointment policy of Swansea Bay University Health Board and takes effect from 1^st February 2026.

01/02/2026