Complaints Process
Although we endeavour to give you the best possible service, there may be times when you feel you have received less than this. If you have any concerns regarding the service you have received, or simply require more information, please ask to speak to a member of our Reception or Complaints Team. If you are not satisfied following a consultation with one of the GPs, you may make an appointment with another GP within the practice for a second opinion.
We have to respect our duty of confidentiality to our patients and if you are complaining on behalf of someone else we do need their consent. Our reception staff can provide you with a consent form. 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 as many details as possible on the form.
If you feel you would still like to make a formal complaint please contact the Practice Manager, preferably in writing, as soon as possible after the event and ideally within a few days, as this helps us to establish what happened more easily. In any event, this should be within 12 months of the incident or within 12 months of you discovering the incident. These timescales may be extended in exceptional circumstances. You can post your complaint to us, hand it in at the reception desk or e-mail it to houghton.medicalgroup@nhs.net
We look to settle complaints as soon as possible. We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to have looked into the matter within 10 working days. Occasionally if we have to make a lot of enquiries it may take up to 4 weeks to get back to you with a reply, but we will keep you informed. We will carry out a full investigation of the matter and reply in writing or offer you a meeting to discuss the complaint, investigations and our findings if you so wish.
At your request, where your complaint involves more than one organisation we will liaise with that organisation to provide you with one coordinated response.
We hope that at the end of our investigation you will feel satisfied that we have dealt with your complaint thoroughly. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome you have the right to approach the Ombudsman.
How do I raise a concern / informal complaint?
You can speak to any member of staff initially with your complaint. This gives you the opportunity to resolve any concern you may have without it going through a formal process.
Most complaints are best resolved within the practice and these should be made via the Complaints Team.
If you’re considering making a complaint but need help
If you require support to make a complaint Voice Ability can offer both offer both information and support. They have advocates to support people to make a complaint about the treatment or care that they or a friend or family member have received from an NHS service. This support is available at every stage of the complaints process.
Formal Complaint
What we will do
We will contact you about your complaint within three working days and provide you with information about our complaints procedure and the timeframes for a reply.
We will:
- Look into what happened and what went wrong
- Arrange a meeting for you to discuss the problem with those involved if you would like this
- Apologise where this is appropriate
- Identify what we can do to make sure that the problem does not happen again
If you feel you do not want to contact the surgery directly, then you can contact the NHS integrated care board complaints team on:
Website address: NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB contact us
Email: necsu.pccomplaints@nhs.net
Telephone: 0191 512 8484
Who can complain
- Complainants may be current or former patients, or their nominated or elected representatives (who have been given consent to act on the patients behalf)
- Patients over the age of 16 whose mental capacity is unimpaired should normally complain themselves or authorise someone to bring a complaint on their behalf
- Children under the age of 16 can also make their own complaint, if they’re able to do so
If a patient lacks capacity to make decisions, their representative must be able to demonstrate sufficient interest in the patient’s welfare and be an appropriate person to act on their behalf. This could be a partner, relative or someone appointed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 with lasting power of attorney.
Appropriate person
In certain circumstances, we need to check that a representative is the appropriate person to make a complaint.
- For example, if the complaint involves a child, we must satisfy ourselves that there are reasonable grounds for the representative to complain, rather than the child concerned
- If the patient is a child or a patient who lacks capacity, we must also be satisfied that the representative is acting in the patient’s best interests
If we are not satisfied that the representative is an appropriate person, we will not consider the complaint and will give the representative the reasons for our decision in writing.
Complain to the Ombudsman
If, after receiving our final response, you remain dissatisfied you may take your complaint to the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman is independent of the NHS and free to use. It can help resolve your complaint and tell the NHS how to put things right if it has got them wrong.
The Ombudsman only has legal powers to investigate certain complaints. You must have received a final response from the Practice before the Ombudsman can look at your complaint and it will generally not look into your complaint if it happened more than 12 months ago, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Phone: 0345 015 4033