Complaints Policy for Patients
Introduction
We strive to give you the best service possible, but there may be times when you feel this has not happened. This policy explains what to do if you have a complaint or concern about the services, we provide here at See Me GP.
We hope you will use this procedure to allow us to investigate and, if necessary, put right any problems or concerns you have identified with the care you have received from both our clinical and non-clinical teams.
Please be assured that raising a complaint or concern about the practice will not affect your rights. We have to respect our duty of confidentiality to patients; if you are making a complaint on behalf of someone else, then that patient’s consent will be necessary prior to our response.
If you are unhappy with the response, you receive then you can take your matter to an independent complaints arbitrator who will oversee the process.
PLEASE NOTE:
- We are not able to deal with questions regarding legal liability or compensation and these must be directed through a solicitor or via the independent sector complaints adjudication service (ICSAS) www.iscas.cedr (see later for full contact details)
- We are unable to comment on care received by other organisations such as local hospitals but can assist you in clarifying details of your care and signposting you to the complaint’s pathways for other organisations.
Who to Contact
If you have any concerns or wish to make a complaint, please contact the Practice Manager in writing by email or phone:
Post:
Practice Manager
See Me GP
Dodley Hill Barns, Station Rd
Swanbourne
MK18 0SR
Email:
info@seemegp.doctor – please mark for attention of the Practice Manager
Phone:
TBC
Complaints can also be made verbally to a member of our team either over the phone or in person. Each member of staff is aware that if you raise a concern or complaint with them, they will take note and inform the Practice Manager.
Formal Complaint
A formal complaint should preferably be made as soon as possible after the event and ideally within a few days, as this helps us establish what happened when things are fresh in the mind. In any event, this should be:
- Within 12 months of the incident,
- Or within 12 months of you discovering the incident and giving as much detail as you can
If you are the patient, you can complain about your own care. You are unable to complain about someone else’s treatment without their written authority/consent. See the separate section later in this policy.
To enable a complaint to be made by someone else we would need permission from the patient in writing and signed. This enables us to open up a line of communication with the patients representative without breaching confidentiality.
All complaints will be investigated fully by the Practice Manager. Where the complaint is made against the Practice Manager then the lead GP will investigate. If the complaint is made against all members of the team then a response will be made with advice that the patient involve the independent arbitrator to allow transparency and fairness to all parties involved.
Complaints Investigation
We hope to settle complaints as soon as possible, but sometimes it can take time to gather information where multiple staff are involved or due to leave.
We will acknowledge receipt within three working days, and a member of our team may contact you initially to clarify information in the complaint or to gather more information. We will then aim to have looked into the matter within 28 working days, but where we anticipate this to take longer we will notify you of this decision and the reasons for this.
You will receive a formal reply in writing via post and/or email if preferred. In some circumstances we will invite you to make an appointment to discuss the matter further with either a GP or the Practice Manager. This would be at a mutually convenient time to meet with the person(s) concerned to attempt to resolve the issue – should you wish to, you are entitled to bring a friend or relative to the meeting. We will try to address your concerns fully, provide you with an explanation and discuss any action that may be needed.
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.
Internally, we routinely review complaints and feedback on our services every month. These reviews are done during monthly practice meetings where we review complaints and significant events.
The final response letter will include details of the result of your complaint and your right to escalate the matter further if you remain dissatisfied with the response.
Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else
We keep to the 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.
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 the provision of consent 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 above circumstances apply.
We may still need to correspond directly with the patient, or we may be able to deal directly with the third party; this depends on the wording of the authority provided.
Further Information
We take every complaint or concern seriously. We aim to learn from feedback, reflect and improve the care that we provide our patients. If you prefer to raise your complaint independently of us, then you may also approach the independent arbitrator such as the independent sector complaints adjudication service (ICSAS) www.iscas.cedr.
Alternatively you can contact them on info.iscas.org.uk or 020 7536 6091.
Their postal address is;
ISCAS.
CEDR, 3rd Floor
100 St Pauls Churchyard
London
EC4M 8BU