Make a Complaint

Complaints Procedure

Our aim is to deliver the highest possible standard of care and service at all times and we try to work swiftly to resolve any problems that may occur.

If you have any concern or complaint about the service you have received from us - a doctor or any of the staff working in this Practice, please let us know.

The Practice follows the NHS procedure for dealing with complaints. Our approach of listening to and dealing with any complaint meets the national standards as set out in the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009.

How to Complain

Hopefully, most issues can be resolved quickly and easily at the time they arise with the person concerned. If this is not possible and you wish to make a formal complaint, please let us know as soon as possible, in order that we can accurately establish what happened.

Should you wish to document your complaint, it should be addressed to our Practice Manager, Aija Selby, or, if you prefer, you can ask for an appointment with her to talk through your concerns. She will listen to your complaint, explain the procedure for dealing with it and ensure your complaint is dealt with promptly. Alternatively you can use our on-line facility under the ‘Comments and Complaints’ section on our website www.yaxleygp.nhs.uk

What we will do

We will aim to acknowledge your complaint in writing within 3 working days and will usually provide a summary of your complaint in our acknowledgement letter to ensure we have understood your concerns. Our aim is to have fully investigated your complaint within 28 working days of the date when you brought it to our attention

However, if for any reason this is not possible, we will provide you with an update and confirm a new response date. All complaints that are investigated will be responded to in writing. On some occasions, we will propose a meeting with the people involved. When we look at your complaint we will:

• find out what happened and what went wrong
• make it possible for you to discuss the issues with those concerned, if you would like this
• make sure you receive a proper apology - when appropriate
• provide you with an explanation on any changes to policies or processes that have been made due to you raising your complaint
• identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again

Complaining on behalf of someone else

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 of authorisation, signed by the person concerned, is required, unless they are incapable of providing this (because of illness or mental incapacity). In these circumstances we would require authority from the person holding the Power of Attorney.

Complaining to NHS England

We hope that, if you have an issue, you will use our practice complaints procedure as we believe this will give us the best opportunity to put right whatever has gone wrong. However, there may be an occasion where you feel unable to communicate with us and you may prefer to approach NHS England, who is the commissioner of Primary Care Services. Their contact details are as follows:

Telephone: 0300 311 2233
Email: england.contactus@nhs.net
Postal address: NHS England, P.O.Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT

FIND OUT MORE

If, at the end of the complaint process, you are not satisfied with the outcome, you have the option to contact the Health Service Ombudsman to request an independent review of your complaint. Their helpline number is 0345 015 4033 and their e-mail address is Phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk. Further information about the Ombudsman is available at www.ombudsman.org.uk. Please note that if you approach the Ombudsman directly without using our practice complaints procedure first, they may refer you back to us so we have the chance to resolve your complaint locally.

Furthermore, the NHS Complaints Advocacy offers a free, confidential service for NHS service users. They can be contacted at POhWER, P.O.Box 14043, Birmingham, B6 9BL. Their telephone number is 0300 456 2370 and their e-mail address is pohwer@pohwer.net

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