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 six months of the incident that caused the problem; or
• Within twelve months of the incident or within twelve months after becoming aware of a cause for complaint.

Complaints should be addressed to the Practice Manager or any of the Doctors. We request that all complaints are written so as to ensure that all the facts are correct, this can either be by completing a complaint form which is available at reception, sending a letter or contacting us online.

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

What will the practice do?

We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to have fully investigated within 21 days of the date it was received. If we expect it to take longer we will explain the reason for the delay and when we expect to finish our investigation; we will make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned; make sure you receive an apology if this is appropriate and take steps to make sure any problem does not arise again. You will receive a final letter setting out the result of any practice investigations.

When reviewing 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 are bound by strict rules regarding medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of somebody else then we have to know that you have his/her permission to do so. This should be provided by way of a signed note, unless incapable through illness of doing so.

Complaining to the NHS

We hope that if you do have a complaint you will use our practice complaint procedure. We believe this will give us the best chance of resolving the issue satisfactorily and provide an opportunity for us to improve our practice. However, this does not affect your right to approach NHS England if you feel that you cannot raise the complaint directly with us or if you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation.

As part of the management of complaints in NHS England, your information may be shared with the Commissioning Support Units. If consent is required you will be contacted direct by NHS England.

For further advice contact NHS England:

Telephone: 0300 311 2233 (Monday to Friday 08:00 – 18:00, excluding English Bank Holidays)

Online: NHS England - Contact Us

Post: NHS England, PO Box 16738, Redditch,B97 9PT

Other means of complaining

• The Care Quality Commission: If you remain unhappy after local resolution and independent review then you can complain to the Health Service Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is completely independent of both the NHS and Government. You can contact the Ombudsman at: Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP. Tel No: 0345 015 4033 or visit the website
• Independent Complaints Advocacy Service – (ICAS) VoiceAbility: A new service was instituted by the government to assist those who wish to or are making complaints about the NHS – the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS). In the London region, ICAS is being provided by the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. You determine how much
  you want from ICAS, be it advice, assistant or support. The service is free and confidential and can be contacted via their head office at: NHS Complaints Advocacy,  VoiceAbility, Mount Pleasant House, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0RN. Tel No: 0300 330 5454