Took my father who has Parkinsons disease to see this dentist. His name was shouted whilst we were in the waiting room and so we ventured out to the reception desk where people were standing around. Nobody approached us and as we'd never been there before we didn't know where to go, then looking over my left shoulder I saw a somebody dressed in white and so I asked if she had just called us. The abrupt reply I received was "yes, thats why I'm standing here waiting for you". Being led into the dentistry area my dad was told to sit in the chair by the dentist. My father has severe mobility problems due to parkinsons and was struggling to get into the chair until I decided to grip the armrest and see if it moved - which it did and allowed him to get into the chair easier. Neither the dentist or assistant offered to do this, nor did they suggest I moved the armrest - it was all left up to me to struggle whilst holding my Father up. The examination proceeded and my dad was told to rinse his mouth. The need for a tissue to wipe his mouth was obvious but when I asked for one the same assistant abruptly said "theres one there" - which there wasn't and it was only when I started to go through my dads pocket to see if he had a tissue that one was brought over. Leaving the appointment we were told to hand our paperwork in reception. When we got to reception there was a woman dressed in white sat to the left of the reception desk that ignored us and a woman to the right dressed in black who was going through music CDs. She looked at me then continued to look through the CDs until she found a Queen CD which she proceeded to load into their player. At no time did she verbally acknowledge us - let alone prioritise us over music CD selection and left me and my Father standing there until she had finished her music choices. Due to these unprofessional, discourteous and dismissive attitudes from multiple staff including a clear lack of assistance with the chair, I cancelled another appointment with a different family member. In typing this and discussing the matter with family, I've just remembered that when being taken into the actual dentistry room, the door was a sliding type on rails, this door was only half opened and whilst guiding my Father I opened it fully so he didn't knock into it. The same thing happened upon leaving the dentistry area - the sliding door was slid half way back for us to leave and so I opened it fully so that it was safe for my Father to exit. All of the above (except for the door issue) was discussed with the practice manager in a telephone call at my request but this only happened after the dental assistant rung me first and wanted to know the details of my concerns as I insisted I was awaiting a return call from the practice manager. I offer no judgements, recommendations or opinions - just facts.
Original Comment Report...