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 complaints procedure as part of a NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.

How to complain

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time  they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible – ideally, within a matter of days or at most a few weeks, because this will enable us to establish what happened more easily.

If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint within 12 months of the incident.

Complaints should be addressed to the either practice manager, or any of the doctors within the practice. If you would like to give feedback online, please use our Feedback Triage. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with Jennifer Gough in order to discuss your concerns. She will explain the complaints procedure to you and will make sure that your concerns are dealt with promptly.

It will be a great help if you are as specific as possible about your complaint.

What we shall do

We shall acknowledge your complaint within three working days, and aim to have looked into your complaint as soon as possible and we will negotiate a timescale from the date you raised it with us. We shall then be in a position to offer you an  explanation, or a meeting with the people involved. When we look into your complaint, we shall aim to:

• Find out what happened and what went wrong
• Make it possible for you to discuss the problem 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 doesn’t happen again

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please note that 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 signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.

If you feel we have not resolved your complaint

We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice. But this does not affect your right to approach the Customer Contact Centre. If you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us you should contact them as follows:

For the attention of the Complaints Manager
NHS England
PO Box 16738
Redditch B97 9PT
Telephone: 0300 311 22 33 (Monday to Friday 08:00-18:00, excluding english bank holidays).
Email: England.contactus@nhs.net

If you remain dissatisfied with the response to your complaint you have the right to request the Ombudsman to review your case. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is an independent body established to promote improvements in healthcare through the assessment of those that provide the services.

You can contact them on 0345 0154033 Monday to Friday, 08:30-17:00 or by emailing phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk.

You can also write to:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
11th Floor Millbank Tower
London SW1P 4QP

If you need help with making your complaint you can contact the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) who will assist you.

POhWER ICAS
Hertlands House
Primett Road
Stevenage
Herts
SG1 3EE

Telephone: 0845 4561082

Email: pohwericas@pohwericas.net