The elusive quest

In his famous novel The Water Babies Charles Kingsleyintroduced a character called MrsDoasyouwouldbedoneby. As you mightexpect from a children’s book with astrong moral thread, her name reflectsthe idea that we should behave fairlytowards others in the expectation thatothers will reciprocate.

There’s something of a moral there too for those of us in practice, especially if we have expectations that our patients will behave in a certain way and indeed if we want them to experience high levels of satisfaction. As patients ourselves, we have certain expectations and requirements which must be met if we are going to be satisfied – let alone pleased - with our experience. So reflecting on what would give us satisfaction is no bad place to start. But in doing so are we missing something? What are patients really looking for?

Some of you may recall that the General Dental Council carried out a survey on patient expectations some three years ago. Key priorities identified.” by patients included the hygiene and cleanliness of practices, the knowledge and technical ability of staff, and treatment outcomes. No great surprises there perhaps. However patients also identified being treated with dignity and respect and good communication skills as important qualities, and the GDC commented at the time that many of the complaints received by both itself and the Dental Complaints Service indicated that customer service and communication skills play a crucial role in a patient’s decision to return to their dentist.