Dentist failed to check that the medicine she prescribed was appropriate

What happened

Mrs A saw a dentist with a wisdom tooth infection. She complained about the dental care she received. The Practice removed her from their list because of a breakdown in the relationship. When she made a further complaint, the Practice suggested a meeting.

Mrs A could not attend a meeting and asked for a written response but the Practice failed to respond to all the issues.

When the Practice did not respond in writing, Mrs A contacted us. The Practice sent a final written response after we contacted it.

What we found

The majority of Mrs A's care was reasonable. But the dentist failed to check how the medicine she prescribed to Mrs A would affect the other medicines she took. Mrs A was aware of possible effects. She was left in pain for two days because she had to wait until after the weekend to check the medication with her GP.

The Practice failed to fully respond to Mrs A's complaints. It knew about the NHS complaints regulations but this time it got it wrong.

Putting it right

We recommended that the Practice apologise to Mrs A for its mistake and pay £250 in compensation for her unnecessary pain and suffering and not responding in writing to all the issues raised.

We also recommended the dentist should discuss the complaint with her responsible officer and tell us and Mrs A what she had learnt from the complaint about prescribing medication.