Making a complaint
We understand that making a complaint can be stressful at times, so we will do our best to sort out any problem as quickly and efficiently as possible. Most problems can be resolved quite easily, often at the time they arise and with the person(s) concerned and we ask you to try this first.
Where you are not able to resolve your complaint in this way and want to make a formal complaint, you should do so as soon as possible after the event, either verbally or in writing to any member of the practice team who will pass this onto the practice manager. This will help us to work out what happened more easily.
Any complaint should be made within 12 months of the incident or within 12 months of discovering the problem, giving as much detailed information as you can.
If you are a registered patient you can make a complaint about your own care. You cannot complain about someone else’s care without their written consent. In the case of a child this will depend upon the circumstances and an older child may still need to give permission to discuss events with you.
All our staff want to give you the best possible service every time. However we know that sometimes things can go wrong. This may leave you feeling like you want to raise a complaint. If this is the case, we want to do our very best to ensure the matter is resolved for you.
Raising an informal complaint:
We may be able to deal with your complaint straightaway if you feel comfortable discussing it informally.
In the first instance we would ask you to raise the complaint with Karen Doolin who can be contacted on 01706 390243.
This gives you the opportunity to get the matter resolved as quickly as possible without going through a formal process
How to raise a formal complaint:
If you would like to raise a formal complaint please do so as quickly as possible.
Please send your complaint to the practice manager by completing this form.
Please include:
- what or who you are complaining about
- what happened and when
- what you would like to be done to resolve your complaint
- your contact details
The practice manager will contact you within 3 working days. We will ask you about the issue and agree the best way to investigate the complaint. We will give you timescales for a response. We may also organise a meeting with the people involved to:
- find out what happened and what went wrong
- invite you to discuss the problem with those involved, if you would like this
- apologise where this is appropriate
- identify what we can do to make sure that the problem does not happen again
What to expect
We will generate a full response as soon as is reasonably possible. We will aim to acknowledge that we’ve received your complaint within 3 working days. Once we have received it, we will try to clarify what’s happened and why to see if there’s anything we can learn from this. After a full investigation you will receive a written response to your complaint as soon as is reasonably possible. However, please be advised our practice policy in line with current NHS complaints guidance allows this to be upwards of 40 days.
On occasion, you will be invited to attend the surgery to discuss the matter with the practice manager and, where appropriate, one or more of the partners if we think this may help us understand what happened.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
We keep to the strict rules of medical and personal confidentiality.
If you wish to make a complaint but are not the patient involved, we will require the written consent of the patient. This is to confirm that they are unhappy with their treatment and that we can deal with someone else about it.
Please send your complaint to the practice manager by completing this form. Where the patient is incapable of providing consent due to illness or accident, it may still be possible to deal with the complaint. Please provide the precise details of the circumstances which prevent this in your covering letter. Please note that we are unable to discuss any issue relating to someone else without their express permission, which must be in writing, unless the above circumstances apply.
Confidentiality
All complaints must be treated in the strictest confidence.
Where the investigation of the complaint requires consideration of the patient’s medical records, the practice manager must inform the patient or person acting on his or her behalf if the investigation will involve disclosure of information contained in those records to a person other than the practice or an employee of the practice.
The surgery must keep a record of all complaints and copies of all correspondence relating to complaints but such records must be kept separate from the patient’s medical records.
The surgery has an annual review of complaints received within the year and the learning issues or changes to procedures which have arisen are documented.
Read more on on our complaints procedure via our Yorkshire Street Surgery Leaflet
NHS GM Complaints
If you feel you are unable to make a complaint direct to the practice you can always contact NHS GM complaints via
- Email – nhsgm.patientservices@nhs.net
- Phone – 0161 271 3980, 9am-4pm Monday-Friday (excluding Bank Holidays)
- Post – NHS Greater Manchester, 4th Floor, Piccadilly Place, Manchester, M1 3BN.
Health service ombudsman
You also have the right to contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
You can call their customer helpline on 0345 015 4033 from 08:30 to 17:30, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays. Calls are charged at local or national rates.
Or you can send a text to their ‘call back’ service: 07624 813 005, with your name and mobile number.
For more information you can visit their website.
