Patient Complaints Information

 

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We welcome compliments, suggestions, or concerns about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this practice. We will learn from complaints, feedback and praise to improve our practice.

We operate a complaints procedure as part of a NHS system for dealing with complaints.

As a patient of the NHS you have a right to:

  • Have your complaint dealt with seriously
  • Have your complaint properly investigated
  • Be informed of the outcome of your complaint
  • Take your complaint to the Health Service Ombudsman if you are not satisfied with the outcome 
 

How to Complain (Local Resolution)

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned.

If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible. You can use our complaints form, available on our website or from a member of staff, or in writing to the address above. If you would prefer to make your complaint verbally, you may do so by phoning the number above or by speaking to a member of staff.

  • We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days and offer to make arrangements to discuss your concerns. We will also give you an idea of how long our investigation may take
  • We will then investigate your complaint within the practice.
  • We will keep you informed of the progress of our investigation
  • We will send you a response explaining the outcome of our investigation and any actions to be taken as a result
  • We will aim to respond fully to your complaint within three weeks of the date when you raised it with us. When we look into your complaint, we shall aim to:
  1. Find out what happened and what went wrong;
  2. Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this;
  3. Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate;
  4. Identify what we can do to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.
 

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless that person is deceased or they lack the capacity to make their own decisions.

 

Help and Advice

You may also receive advice from:

 

What to do if you are not happy with our response

If you are not happy with our response (local resolution) you can ask the Health Service Ombudsman for an independent review. Their details are as follows:

  • Telephone: call 0345 015 4033 (08:30 – 17:30 Monday to Friday)
  • SMS: send a text to 07624 813 005 for a call back
  • Website: please click here to complete the appropriate form
  • By Post: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4QP