Complaints Policy
Making a complaint
If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from any staff working at our practice, please let us know. We operate a practice complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.
We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and by speaking with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a written complaint please complete the complaints form provided on our website. If you attend the practice in person, please speak to a member of the reception staff who will be able to explain our complaints procedure to you and/or provide you with the appropriate form. All complaints will be dealt with promptly and confidentially.
We would like you to let us know about your problem as soon as possible – ideally within a matter of days or at the 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 specific 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.
What happens next?
Please complete our complaints form and return by email to nelondon.brookeroadsurgery@nhs.net
Download
Complaints Form
Receipt of your complaint will be acknowledged within three working days.
Your complaint will be investigated to:
- find out what happened.
- make it possible for you to discuss the problem with the practice, if you would like this.
- make sure you receive a considered response and/or an apology, where this is appropriate.
- identify learning points for the practice and make changes where appropriate.
We aim to look into your complaint within ten working days of the date when you raised it and either to offer an explanation and conclusion satisfactory to both parties or if appropriate offer a meeting with Deepak Gupta (Practice Manager) to discuss the matter.
As a patient registered with the practice, you may of course request a meeting with Deepak Gupta at any stage – please speak to reception staff, who will arrange this for you. We will let you know, and keep you informed as the investigation progresses.
When looking into a complaint we attempt to see what happened and why, to see if there is something we can learn from this, and make it possible for you to discuss the issue with those involved if you would like to do so. When the investigations are complete a final response will be sent to you. Where your complaint involves more than one organisation (e.g. social services) we will liaise with that organisation so that you receive one coordinated reply. We may need your consent to do this. Where your complaint has been sent initially to an incorrect organisation, we may seek your consent to forward this to the correct person to deal with.
The final response letter will include details of the result of your complaint and also your right to escalate the matter further if you remain dissatisfied with the response.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
We keep to strict rules of medical and personal confidentiality. If you wish to make a complaint and are not the patient involved, we will require the written consent of the patient to confirm that they are unhappy with their treatment and that we can deal with someone else about it. Please ask at reception for the Complaints Form which contains a suitable authority for the patient to sign to enable the complaint to proceed.
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 circumstances above apply. We may still need to correspond direct with the patient, or may be able to deal direct with the third party, and this depends on the wording of the authority provided.
If you're dissatisfied with the outcome
You have the right to approach the Ombudsman. The contact details are:
The Health Service Ombudsman Millbank Tower,
Millbank,
London
SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 015 4033
www.ombudsman.org.uk
The Practice Complaints Manager is Deepak Gupta
Useful links
You can find links for NHS patient advocacy groups below:
- How to complain to the NHS
- NHS England complaints resources
- The Advocacy People NHS Complaints Advocacy
- POhWER NHS Complaints Advocacy
- VoiceAbility NHS Complaints Advocacy
- Healthwatch Hackney
