Complaints Procedure

Let the practice know your views

Westcourt Medical Centre is always looking for ways to improve the services it offers to patients. To do this effectively, the practice needs to know what you think about the services you receive. Tell us what we do best, constructive feedback where we don’t meet your expectations plus any ideas and suggestions you may have. Only by listening to you can the practice continue to build and improve upon the service it offers.

Tell us about our service

• Could you easily get through on the telephone?
• Did you get an appointment with the practitioner you wanted to see?
• Were you seen within 20 minutes of your scheduled appointment time?
• Were our staff helpful and courteous?

Practice complaints procedure

If you have a complaint about the service you have received from any member of staff working in this practice, please let us know. The practice operates a Complaints Procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.

Note: If you make a complaint it is practice policy to ensure you are not discriminated against, or subjected to any negative effect on your care, treatment or support.

Contact the practice to lodge a complaint.

How to complain

In the first instance please discuss your complaint with the staff member concerned. If this does not resolve the situation, please ask to speak with the Patient Services Team Lead who will look further  into your concerns and offer you further advice on the complaints procedure. If your problem cannot be resolved at this stage and you wish to make a formal complaint, please let us know as soon as possible; the Practice Manager will then deal with your concerns as appropriate.

If it is not possible to raise your complaint immediately, please let us have details of your complaint within the following timescales:

• Within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem OR
• Within 12 months from when the complaint comes to your notice

The Practice will acknowledge your complaint within three working days from receipt. We will then investigate your complaint within the practice. We will keep you informed of the progress of our  investigation and send you a response explaining the outcome and any actions to be taken as a result.

When we look into your complaint, we shall aim to:

• Find out what happened and what wentwrong;
• 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 Westcourt Medical Centre adheres strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, the practice needs to know that you have their  permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be required, unless they are incapable of providing this due to illness or disability.

Complaining to other authorities

The management team hope that if you have a problem you will use the Practice Complaints Procedure. However, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us you can contact the following:

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

• Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman: 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
• 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