Running late

One of the most stressful situations for patients can be the dentist running late for their appointment. Whilst there may indeed be a good reason for this happening, it can cause problems for the whole dental team and risk a formal complaint. This scenario – and its resolution – draws upon important principles that can be applied to many challenging situations that the dental nurse may encounter.

Mrs B was booked in for the removal of her lower left wisdom tooth. She was nervous about the treatment and arrived accompanied by her husband. Both she and her husband had taken time off work for the appointment, which was at 4.30pm. Unfortunately, the dentist was running 45 minutes late due to an earlier patient with prolonged bleeding, after an extraction, which required suturing and extra time being needed. In addition, the reception staff were not aware of the problem and could not inform the patient whilst she was waiting. The dentist asked the nurse to tell the patient he would be late for reasons ‘beyond his control’ and that the nurse should give that reason for the delay. On being informed her appointment would be delayed, the patient and her husband complained that they had arrived at the correct time for their appointment and had taken time off work to be there. On being told again that the delay was for unforeseen reasons, the patient and her husband stated they would not be requiring the treatment and would go elsewhere. They then left the practice.