Complaints

If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us know. We operate a practice complaint procedure as part of an NHS complaints system, which meets national criteria.

HOW TO COMPLAIN

We hope that we can sort most problems out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If you wish to make a formal complaint, please do so AS SOON AS POSSIBLE - ideally within a matter of a few days. This will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If doing that is not possible your complaint should be submitted within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem; or within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem provided this is within 12 months of the incident. You should address your complaint in writing to the Practice Manager – (you can use the attached form or ask for one to be emailed to you or pick up a form from The Practice). The Practice Manager will make sure that we deal with your concerns promptly and in the correct way. You should be as specific and concise as possible. Please click on the link and complete our online form:

Patient Complaint Form

COMPLAINING ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE

We keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are not the patient, but are complaining on their behalf, you must have their permission to do so. An authority signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness or infirmity) of providing this. A Third Party Consent Form is provided below.

Patient Third-Party Consent Form

WHAT WE WILL DO

We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to have fully investigated within 30 working days of the date it was received. If we expect it to take longer we will explain the reason for the delay and tell you when we expect to finish. When we look into your complaint, we will investigate the circumstances; make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned; make sure you receive an apology if this is appropriate, and take steps to make sure any problem does not arise again.

You will receive a final letter setting out the result of any practice investigations.

TAKING IT FURTHER

If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome you may refer the matter to:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Address: Millbank Tower, 30 Millbank, London SW1P 4QP

Email: enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk

Tel: 0345 0154033

Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk

NHS Commissioning Board

Address: NHS England, PO Box 16738, Redditch B97 9PT

Email: england.contactus@nhs.net

Tel: 0300 311 22 33