HOW TO MAKE A COMPLAINT

As a Practice, we make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our Practice.

However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

Therefore, we operate a complaint procedure as part of an NHS complaints system, which meets national criteria. We view complaints as an opportunity to reflect on patient care, where appropriate apologise and learn from incidents to improve patient care. If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the personnel working in this practice, please let us know.

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 as soon as possible. This will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If doing that is not possible your complaint should be submitted within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem; or within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem. You should address your complaint in writing to the Practice Manager; please try and avoid e-mailing the surgery as this may be overlooked. 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.

From 1 July 2023 the way members of the public make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner is changing. Rather than contacting NHS England, they will contact their local integrated care board (ICB).

 By primary care services we mean GPs, dentists, opticians or pharmacy services.

 There are two ways you can make a complaint:

1.`You can complain to the healthcare provider: this is the organisation where you received the NHS service, for example a GP surgery or dental surgery.

2. You can complain to the commissioner of the service: this is the organisation that paid for the service or care you received.

 After 1 July 2023 if you want to make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner you will now contact your local integrated care board instead of NHS England. Information about how to do this, including ways of contacting the ICB by phone, e-mail or written correspondence will be available on ICB/primary care websites and shared widely by ICBs to relevant stakeholders, partners and patient groups.

Members of the public will still be able to make a complaint to the provider. This is NOT changing.

Members of the public with ongoing complaints received on/after 1 July 2022 will receive a letter from NHS England informing them that the ICB is now handling their complaint with confirmation of their case handler.

Members of the public with any ongoing complaints received before 1 July 2022 will receive a letter from NHS England informing them that their complaint is being retained by NHS England with confirmation of their case handler. The central NHS England complaints team will retain the handling of complaints relating to services it still commissions directly.

By giving ICBs responsibility for a broader range of functions, they will be able to design services, including how to make complaints, that better meet local priorities

The Practice team 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 the providing this.

If your initial complaint was made verbally but the Practice was unable to resolve it within 24 hours, the matter will be dealt with formally.

For all formal complaints, the Practice will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to have it fully investigated within 28 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. A member of the Practice team may contact you to discuss the complaint or clarify any points.

When we investigate your complaint, we will investigate the circumstances, and make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned all while making sure you receive an apology if this is appropriate and take steps to make sure any problems do not arise again. You will receive a final letter setting out the result of any practice investigations.

We hope that if you have a problem you will use our practice complaints procedure. We believe that this would give us a chance to put right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our Practice. If you do not wish to use our complaints procedure you can complain via NHS England who can be contacted at the following address:

NHS England

PO Box 16738

Redditch

B97 9PT

Telephone: 0300 311 2233 (Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, excluding English Bank Holidays)

Email: england.contactus@nhs.net