Suggestions, Comments and Complaints

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If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the personnel working in this practice, please let us know. We operate a practice complaint procedure as part of an NHS complaints system, which meets national criteria.

How to Complain

We hope that we can sort most problems out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If you wish to make a formal complaint, please do so as soon as possible – ideally within a matter of a few days. This will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If doing that is not possible your complaint should be submitted within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem; or within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem. You should address your complaint in writing to the Practice Manager (you can use the attached form). He/she will make sure that we deal with your concerns promptly and in the correct way, in conjunction with our Patient Liaison Officers.

You should be as specific and concise as possible. Please email leightonroadsurgery@nhs.net.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

We keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are not the patient, but are complaining on their behalf, you must have their permission to do so. An authority signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness or infirmity) of providing this. A Third Party Consent Form is provided below.

What we will do

We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to have fully investigated within 10 working days of the date it was received. You may then receive a formal reply in writing, or you may be invited to meet with the person(s) concerned to attempt to resolve the issue. If the matter is likely to take longer than this we will let you know, and keep you informed as the investigation progresses.

When we look into your complaint, we will investigate the circumstances; 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

You can if you choose make your complaint directly to:

NHS England
PO Box 16738
Redditch
B97 9PT
Email: England.contactus@nhs.net marked ‘for the attention of the complaints manager’.
Tel: 0300 311 22 33 (Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm excluding bank Holidays.

If you need help in making your complaint you can contact POhWer NHS Complaints Advocacy service, who will assist you. They can be contacted via

POhWER
PO Box 14043
Birmingham
B6 9BL
Tel: 01582 447109 or 0300 456 2370
Email: pohwer@pohwer.net

If you are not satisfied with the outcome from either the Surgery or NHS England you may refer the matter to:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 0154033
www.ombudsman.org.uk