Problems and Complaints

Problems and Complaints

Sorting out problems and making complaints
You have the right to complain if you feel that the service you have received from the practice is not satisfactory. We always listen carefully to complaints and take them very seriously. Our staff will be happy to help to resolve any minor problems immediately but if this isn’t possible, the practice manager or any of the doctorsare always available to discuss your concerns further. We will do our best to resolve the matter for you quickly and we will try to learn from any mistakes we make.

HOW TO COMPLAIN
We hope that most problems can be sorted out quickly and easily, 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 help us to establish what happened more easily. 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

Written complaints should be addressed to the Practice Business Partner, Mrs Annette Given who is responsible along with Dr Sarah Hay for the administration of the complaints procedure. You may ask for an appointment with Mrs Given (or in her absence, the Practice Manager, Mrs Leanne Ashton) in order to discuss your concerns. She will explain the complaints’ procedure to you and will make sure that your concerns are recorded and dealt with promptly. It will be a great help if you are as specific as possible about your complaint.
WHAT WE SHALLDO
We shall acknowledge your complaint straight away and we aim to have looked into your complaint within a reasonable time from the date when you raised it with us (usually two weeks). If we think it will take longer than this, we will keep you informed and tell you why. Once our investigation is complete, we shall 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 his or her permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned is needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this. A doctor’s duty of confidentiality continues after a patient has died. If a patient has asked for information to remain confidential, we will usually respect their wishes. If this is not the case, a doctor may share relevant information when a close relative asks for information about the circumstances of a patient’s death. This information sharing would be limited to the circumstances, and not a free right of access to the medical records. If there are further issues that do not relate to the circumstances of the death, the consent of the deceased’s legal representative will be sought.

Getting further help with 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 service.

If you would like more assistance, you may obtain advice and helpwith your complaint from the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICA). Contact:

North Yorkshire NHS Complaints Advocacy Service

(Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm)

Tower Court, Oakdale Road

Clifton Moor

YORK

YO30 4XL

Tel 0300 012 4212

E-Mail:

Or complete an enquiry form on the Website:

IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO MAKE A COMPLAINT DIRECT TO THE PRACTICE:

You may not wish to discuss your complaint with the practice therefore you have the right as an alternative to complain directly to the NHS England as the commissioner of our services. You should contact the National Commissioning Board at NHS England, who will investigate your complaint for you. Please post, telephone or e-mail with details of your complaint to:

The Complaints Manager

NHS Commissioning Board

PO Box 16738

Redditch
B97 9PT

Telephone: 0300 311 2233

E-mail & write ‘For the attention of the Complaints Manager’ in the subject line

TO TAKE YOUR COMPLAINT FURTHER

If you remain dissatisfied following our response, you have the right to take your complaint to the Health Service Ombudsman. Contact details are:

The Health Service Ombudsman for England
11th Floor, Millbank Tower, London, SW1P 4QP
Telephone 0345 015 4033

Updated December 2013

Reviewed and updated January 2016 (AG)