Complaints Procedure Policy

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We have a robust complaints procedure, which is summarised here. If you wish to make a complaint you can do so verbally to any member of staff, book an appointment to meet with the Practice Manager in her clinic or in writing to the practice manager.

The Practice follows 6 principles when dealing with complaints:

1. Getting it right
2. Being open and accountable
3. Putting things right
4. Being customer focused
5. Acting fairly & proportionately
6. Seeking continuous improvements

There are four parts to the complaints procedure. Our complaints procedure is based on these four parts:

1. The Initial Stage
2. The Investigation
3. The Informal Meeting/Written Explanation
4. Follow-up and Conclusion

There is a dedicated member of staff who is the complaints lead and ensures the complaints process is followed in a timely fashion.

The Practice Manager has overall responsibility for the complaints system.

Complaints Procedure

The Investigation

Presuming that the practice complaints procedure is to be used, the complainant needs to be assured that the Practice will:

1. Deal with matters promptly – the aim being to complete enquiries within 14 days, with a maximum of four weeks.
2. Undertake a detailed investigation.
3. Offer a meeting to discuss the outcome of the investigation if appropriate.
4. Advise the complainant that they may bring a ‘friend’ to the meeting.
5. Inform the complainant if there appear to be any delays or problems.

Informal Meeting / Written Explanation

If there is an informal meeting, the practice should reassure the complainant that:

1. The matter has been taken seriously
2. The complaint has been fully investigated
3. They will receive a detailed explanation
4. They will receive an appropriate apology if necessary, but will always receive a statement of regret that the incident has occurred

The Follow-Up

The action taken is entered in our complaints log and a record of any relevant meeting/s and/or a copy of the letter sent are kept in the complaints file in case further action results.

Learning from Complaints and Patient Feedback

Complaints and patient feedback logs are regularly reviewed in the Multi disciplinary meetings to:

1. Determine whether any audits are required as a result
2. Determine whether and process needs to be reviewed
3. Determine how to measure the effectiveness of any changes already implemented

Sharing of Learning and Actions from Complaints

The information from the annual complaints audit and the anonymised summary of learning & action points from complaints is shared with staff in both the MDT and administrative team meetings.

If the complainant is not satisfied, they should be alerted to their right (under the practice complaints procedure) to take the matter to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman which is an independent body established to promote improvements in healthcare through the assessment of the performance of those who provide services.

You can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on 0345 015 4033 or write to them at:

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP

A conciliation service, Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS)

Telephone: 01823 275037