Dr R M HogbenDr D Cripps
MBBS MRCGP DAMBBS MRCGP DRCOG PGCert Clin Ed
Compliments, Comments, Concerns and Complaints
We aim to provide patients with the best care we can but we may sometimes fall short of the mark. If you have any compliments, comments, concern or complaints about our service, we want to hear about it and hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned.
Ifyou 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 have a practice complaint procedure in place.
How to Complain
We would encourage you to speak to whoever you feel most comfortable with, so that your problem can be sorted out informally at the time but if you would prefer to give feedback in writing, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible – ideally within a matter of days or at the most a few weeks. This will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If it is not possible to do this please let us have details of your complaints:
- Within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem, or
- Within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem,
Complaints should be addressed to Mrs Sandra Jonesas the complaints manager. Alternatively you may ask for an appointment with Mrs Jones in order to discuss your concerns. She will explain the complaint 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. Please don’t be afraid to say how you feel, as you will not be treated any differently because you have complained. We will just do our best to put right anything that has gone wrong.
What shall we do
We shall acknowledge your complaint within three working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within ten working days of the date when 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 make a plan 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.
- Check any consent issues
- Decide what outcome you would like as a result of our investigation and who will need to be involved
- Agree with you how the investigation will be undertaken
- Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate.
- Identify what we can do to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.
- Offer you information about your right to advocacy
Complaining on behalf of Someone
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 his or her permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.
We hope that if you have a problem you will use our practice complaint procedure. We believe that 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 to the Primary Care Trust, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us.
NHS SOMERSET
Wynford House
Lufton Way
Lufton
Yeovil
Somerset
BA22 8HR
Tel 01935 384000
The Independent Complaints Advocacy Service also is able to provide you with independent advice and support. This is a free service. The details for our area are;
Swan Advocacy contact details after 1 May 2015
Somerset office
Hi-point, Thomas Street, Taunton, TA2 6HB
Phone 03333 44 7928
Website
If you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation on a local level, you have the right to seek an independent review through the Health Service Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can carry out independent investigations into complaints about poor treatment or service provided through the NHS in England. The Ombudsman’s services are free.
If you have any questions about whether the Ombudsman may be able to help you, or about how to make a complaint, please contact their helpline on 0345 015 4033, email or fax 020 7217 4000. Further information about the Ombudsman is available at: You can write to the Ombudsman at:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
MillbankTower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
Our practice complaint procedure is not able to deal with questions of legal liability or compensation. We hope you will use this complaint procedure to look into and if necessary to put right any problems you have identified or mistakes that have been made.
Oaklands Surgery Birchfield RoadYeovilBA21 5RL
Tel:01935 473068 Fax:07092399908 Email: