Complaints Procedure

Introduction

While we constantly strive to provide a good, friendly and efficient service, we do realise that occasionally things do not go as smoothly as we would like. Should you have any complaints or suggestions then please contact the Practice Manager or Dr P J Turner (Lead GP for complaints) in person or by writing if you prefer.

Please tell others when you are pleased with us, but please tell us when you are not.

Patient Complaints Procedure

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 Complaint’s Procedure as part of a NHS system for dealing with complaints and it is our wish to learn from complaints and put right whatever has gone wrong for the benefit of the complainant and future patients. Our complaints system meets the 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. The time limit for a complaint is:

• twelve months from the date the event happened, or

• twelve months from the date you first became aware of it

Complaints should be addressed to either Jo Lawson (Practice Manager) or any of the doctors at biddulphdoctors, Biddulph Primary Care Centre, Wharf Road, Biddulph, Staffordshire ST8 6AG. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with Dr. P. J. Turner (Complaints – Lead GP) in order to discuss your concerns. He 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 Will Do

We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days and aim to look into your complaint as soon as possible after this. You will be informed of who will deal with your complaint, giving you details of how it is to be investigated and of the expected timescales for a response. You will also be offered the option to contact us during this process if you need any further help. After an appropriate level of investigation, we will then be in a position to offer you an explanation, or a meeting with the people involved. When we look into your complaint, we 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 to.

• Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate.

• Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not 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.

Complaining To NHS North Staffordshire Clinical Commisioning Group

We hope 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 NHS England (Shropshire and Staffordshire area Team) if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us. The contact details are:

Chief Executive Officer,
NHS England
P O Box 16738
Redditch
B97 9PT

Telephone 0300 311 2233
Email England.contactus@nhs.net

PALS and ICAS

Patient Advice and Liaison Service provides a confidential service designed to help patients get the most from the NHS. PALS can tell you more about the NHS complaints procedure and may be able to help you resolve your complaint informally. PALS is open Monday to Friday 09.30am to 05.00 pm (excluding bank holidays). There is also a 24 hour answer phone service.

Freephone: 0800 030 4563

Email: feedback@staffordshirecss.nhs.uk

Fax 01782 298228

ICAS is a national service that supports people who want to make a complaint about their NHS care or treatment. The local ICAS is:

North Staffordshire ICAS
Healthwatch
Suite 2 Opus House
Preistly Way
Staffordshire Technology Park
Stafford
Staffordshire
ST18 0LQ

Freephone 0800 1615600

Email: advocacy@ecstaffs.co.uk

If you are still not satisfied with the response provided at local resolution, you may refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. The Ombudsman carries out independent investigations into complaints about government departments, their agencies and the NHS. You can call the Ombudsman’s Complaints Helpline or see their website for more information about contacting the Ombudsman.

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP

Telephone: 0345 015 4033

Text to Call back Service 07624 813005

Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk

Web: www.ombudsman.org.uk