Complaints Procedure

The Practice will ensure that any complaint is dealt with promptly and fairly, and remedial action taken as appropriate.

Preliminary Steps

All patients should be made aware of existence of the complaints policy and be given a copy on request.

When a complaint is received it is recorded in the patient complaint log, which is kept in a confidential on line folder. If the complaint is oral, the patient will be asked to put their complaint into writing.

Mrs Emily Sharma will speak to the complainant immediately to discuss their concerns. Dr Sharma will be alerted to the complaint as soon as possible. The practice will do their best ensure that the complainant is contacted within two working days and advised that the matter is being investigated.

An assessment should be made of the nature and the severity of the complaint and whether it is clinical or administrative.

If clinical - the initial complaint should be investigated by Dr Sharma

If administrative - the complaint should be explored by Mrs Emily Sharma before reporting back to Dr Sharma and the complainant.


Investigation of a Complaint

All complainants should receive written acknowledgement within 2 working days of receipt of their written complaint setting out the procedure of investigation and time-scales involved (unless a full reply can be sent within five working days).

The Practice aims to complete any investigations within 20 days. Once the investigation is completed a specific letter of explanation/apology will go to the complainant and/or the offer of a meeting to discuss the outcome of the investigation.

If the issues are too complex to complete the investigation within 20 days then the complainant will be sent a letter explaining the reason for the delay as soon as it is apparent that the investigation will not be concluded.

Copies of all correspondence are kept in the complaints log and a summary made when the issue has been resolved.


Meeting

Any patients who wish to meet to discuss the findings of any investigations and seek to resolve any outstanding issues will have the opportunity to do so.

At the conclusion of the meeting the complainant will be asked whether they are satisfied that the matter has been resolved.

The meeting and outcome will be recorded in the complaints log and a written confirmation of the outcome will be sent to the patient within 2 working days of the meeting.

If the patient is not satisfied with the outcome they can contact the following bodies:





Follow Up

Any areas of deficiency within the practice are noted and corrective action will be taken taken, such as a revision of staff training needs, or a review of procedures and protocols.

Complaints procedure information is available to patients and prospective patients, their families and carers at the outset of their treatment.

Where requested the patient and/or family members or carers can be given support in using the complaints procedure.

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