If you have a concern or complaint about the service you receive from the doctors or any member of staff working in the practice please let us know. We operate a practice complaints’ procedure for dealing with complaints which meets NHS standards. We welcome feedback to improve our standards and you will not be treated any differently if you have complained.
How to complain
We hope that most problems can be dealt with easily and quickly at the time they arise with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be resolved in this way and you wish to make a formal complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible because this will help us to establish what has happened more quickly. Formal complaints can be made verbally, but preferably in writing, and should be addressed to the Practice Manager or to any of the Doctors. This should be within 12 months of you discovering that you have a problem.
Complaints should be directed to:
Mrs Jo Molyneaux
Practice Manager
Stockwell Road Surgery
21 Stockwell Road
Knaresborough
HG5 0JY
Tel: 01423 867433
What we will do
We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days and aim to assess your complaint in the shortest timeframe possible. You may then receive a formal reply in writing or you may be invited to meet with the person concerned to attempt to resolve the issue.
When we look into a complaint we will aim to:
- Find out what happened and why
- Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned if you would like this
- Ensure that you receive an apology where this is appropriate
- See if there is anything we can learn from what went wrong
- Make sure that you receive a final response when the complaint is determined
Where the complaint involves more than one organisation, e.g. social services etc, we will liaise with that organisation so that you receive one co-ordinated reply. We may need your consent to do this.
The final response letter will include details of the results of your complaint and also your rights to escalate the matter further if you remain dissatisfied with the response.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
If you are making the complaint on behalf of someone else, for example a member of your family or a close friend, we will need to have written evidence that you have the permission of the complainant to make the complaint, unless you are making the complaint on behalf of your child who is under the age of 16 or on behalf of an adult who is incapable, through illness, of making the complaint themselves. This procedure enables us to act within the strict rules of medical confidentiality.
Complaints to NHS England
We hope that wherever possible you will use our practice complaints procedure. However, alternatively you may contact NHS England as below.
Central Contact Centre
NHS England
PO Box 16738
Redditch
B97 9PT
or email:
nhscommissioningboard@hscic.gov.uk
Advocacy Service
Should you require independent support and advice to make your NHS complaint, please contact Cloverleaf Advocacy, details as below:
Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service
(Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm)
1 Devonshire Court
Green Lane Trading Estate
Clifton
York
YO30 5PQ
Telephone: 0300 012 4212
Text: 07860021502
Fax: 0300 666 0125
E-Mail:NHSComplaints@cloverleaf-advocacy.co.uk
Text Service (Incoming Only): 07860 021502
Website:www.cloverleaf-advocacy.co.uk
The Ombudsman
If you are dissatisfied with our response to your complaint you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review your case. You can contact the Ombudsman at:
The Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 015 4033
www.ombudsman.org.uk
Resources
Local Authority Social Services and NHS Complaints (England) Regulations 2009