Complaints Policy

Making a Complaint

The practice would hope to be able to resolve most problems out easily and quickly, Hopefully at the time they arise and with the person concerned, although we appreciate this is not always possible.

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 this is not possible the period for making a complaint is normally:

(a) 12 months from the date on which the event which is the subject of the complaint occurred; or

(b) 12 months from the date on which the event which is the subject of the complaint comes to the complainant's notice.

Your complaint should be in writing to the Practice Manager – either by using the patient complaint contact sheet or by letter if you prefer. State your case clearly giving as much detail as you can.

If you are a registered patient you can complain about your own care. You are unable to complain about someone else’s treatment without their written authority. See the separate section on this page

We are able to provide you with a separate complaints form to register your complaint and this includes a third-party authority form to enable a complaint to be made by someone else. Please ask at reception for this. Alternatively you can put your complaint in writing. 

Send your written complaint to our Complaints Manager: Mrs Joanne Howard using our secure online form

What We Do Next

We look to settle complaints as soon as possible.

We will acknowledge receipt within two working days, the practice aim is to deal with the complaint promptly. 

You will then receive a formal reply in writing once the complaint has been investigated thoroughly, the practice aims to respond within two months, however, this is not always possible. 

When looking into a complaint the practice will investigate what happened and why, as a practice we use the complaints as learning to understand the issues and where appropriate make changes to internal processes. 

When the investigations are complete your complaint will be determined and a final response sent to you.

Where your complaint involves more than one organisation (e.g. social services) we will endeavour to coordinate our responses. However, this is not always feasible so you may received responses from each organisation separately. 

The final response letter will include details of the result of your complaint and also your right to escalate the matter further if you remain dissatisfied with the response. (see details below for how to take your complaint further)

Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else

The practice are bound by the duty of confidence and as such has strict rules around patient confidentiality. This means we are unable to discuss any issues relating to someone else without their express permission.

If you wish to make a complaint and you are not the patient the practice will require the written consent from the patient to confirm that they wish for a representative to deal with the complaint on their behalf. 

The patient will have to complete a consent form before the practice can deal with the complaint further. Please ask at reception for the Complaints Form and a third party consent, once the practice receives the completed consent the complaint will proceed in line with the practice complaints procedure. 

If the patient is incapable of providing consent due to illness or accident it may still be possible to deal with the complaint. However, the practice would require the details and circumstances as to the reasons why the patient cannot consent in writing prior to moving forward with the complaint. Please note that the practice will consider these requests carefully in line with current legislation. This means that it still may not be possible for the practice to discuss the complaint.

If You Are Dissatisfied With The Outcome

The practice team hopes that if you have a problem you will use the Practice Complaints Procedure. However, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us, or you are dissatisfied with the response received from us, you can contact any of the following three bodies:

Independent Contractor Complaints Concerns or Queries NHS England, P.O.. Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT. Telephone :0300 311 22 33 Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm excluding bank holidays. Email: England.contactus@nhs.net

The Care Quality Commission
If you have a genuine concern about a staff member or regulated activity carried on by this Practice then you can contact the Care Quality Commission on 03000 616161, or alternatively visit their website

Ombudsman
As a last resort, if you are not happy with the response from this practice, you can refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman who investigates complaints about the NHS in England. You can call the Ombudsman’s Complaints Helpline on 0345 015 4033 or visit their website