If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this GP surgery, please let us know. This includes Primary Care Network staff working as part of our GP surgery. We operate a complaints procedure as part of an NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.
Who can make a complaint
If you’re a registered patient you can make a complaint about your own care.
You can complain on behalf of someone else if you have their written consent.
How to complain
We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly when they arise and with the person concerned. For example, by requesting a face-to-face meeting to discuss your concerns.
If your problem cannot be sorted out this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible. By making your complaint quickly, it is easier for us to establish what happened. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:
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 can either:
get a complaint form from the practice reception
write your own letter
If you write your own letter, you need to include:
your full name
your date of birth
the GP practice you’re registered with
details of the incident, including dates, times and names of people involved, if you know them
Send your complaint to the surgery. You can send it by email or post.
Complaints should be addressed to the GP surgery team verbally or in writing. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with the GP surgery to discuss your concerns. They will explain the complaints procedure to you and make sure your concerns are dealt with promptly. Please be as specific as possible about your complaint.
When to make a complaint
It’s best to make a formal complaint within a few days of the incident. This makes it easier to confirm what happened.
If that’s not possible, you should make the complaint within 12 months of the incident, or of you discovering the problem.
What happens next
We’ll let you know we’ve received your complaint within 3 working days.
Within 30 working days we may:
reply to you in writing
invite you to meet with the people involved, if you want
– Find out what happened and what went wrong.
– Make it possible for you to discuss what happened with those concerned, if you would like this.
– Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate.
– Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.
If it’s likely to take longer than 30 working days we’ll let you know, and we’ll update you as things change.
What we look at
We look at:
what happened and why
how we can help you talk to the people involved, if you want
what we can learn
If more than one organisation is involved
Other organisations might be involved, for example social services. If so, we’ll talk to them and you’ll receive one coordinated reply. We may need your consent to do this.
If your complaint gets sent to the wrong organisation to begin with, we may ask for your consent to forward it to the right place.
Outcome
We’ll write to tell you the outcome of your complaint.
We’ll also explain how to escalate the issue if you’re not happy with the outcome.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
We take medical confidentiality seriously. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we must know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.
Complaining to NHS England
We hope that you will use our Practice Complaints Procedure if you are unhappy. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our GP surgery.
However, if you feel you cannot raise the complaint with us directly, please contact NHS England. You can find more information on how to make a complaint at https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/complaint/complaining-to-nhse/.
Unhappy with the outcome of your complaint?
If you are not happy with the way your complaint has been dealt with by the GP surgery and NHS England and would like to take the matter further, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). The PHSO makes final decisions on unresolved complaints about the NHS in England. It is an independent service which is free for everyone to use.
To take your complaint to the Ombudsman, visit the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website or call 0345 015 4033.
Get advice if you’re unhappy with the outcome
Contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) to get free, confidential advice. You can find your nearest PALS office on the NHS website.
