We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our Practice.
However, we are aware that things can go wrong, resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would like the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.
To have your complaint investigated, you need to complain within 12 months of the event happening, or as soon as you first become aware of the issue you want to complain about.
The time limit can be extended in special circumstances.
Download the Complaints Leaflet and Forms
You may be required to complete additional forms to make a complaint i.e. Complaining on behalf of someone else, these are contained within the Complaints policy and forms document shown below.
Our Aim
The Practice aims to provide the best possible service to you at all times. If, however, you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received, please let us know so that we have the opportunity to explain or resolve any cause of dissatisfaction. Your comment or complaint will help us to improve our services. We operate a practice complaint procedure as part of an NHS complaints system, which meets national criteria.
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.
If you as the patient, a carer or relative wishes to complain about the practice and prefer not to make the complaint direct to us, please contact the NHS England National Commissioning Board. Contacts to this Board are to be made to through the Central Contact Centre, using the details below:
Telephone: 0300 311 22 33
Email: [email protected]
Post: NHS England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH B97 9PT
All your details will be treated with the strictest confidence.
You may also obtain support and advice from:
North Yorkshire Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service
This organisation is based at:
1 Devonshire Court
Green Lane Trading Estate
Clifton
York
YO30 5PQ
Telephone: 0300 012 4212
Fax: 01924 438444
Email: NHS Complaints@clovereaf advocacy
They are open Monday to Friday 9am until 5pm.
How to Complain
If you feel you do not want to contact the surgery directly, then you can contact the NHS Complaints team on:
We hope that we can resolve most problems quickly and easily, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. However, if you wish to make a complaint, please do so AS SOON AS POSSIBLE – ideally within a matter of days. Please contact us on our local telephone number, 01904 490532. This will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If doing that is not possible your complaint should be submitted within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem; or within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem. You should address your complaint in writing to the Practice Business Manager. The Practice Business Manager will make sure that we deal with your concerns promptly and in the correct way. You should be as specific and concise as possible.
Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else
We keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality (a separate leaflet giving more detail on confidentiality is available on request). If you are not the patient but are complaining on their behalf, you must have their permission to do so. An authority signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness or infirmity) of providing this. A Third Party Consent Form is provided within our downloadable form shown at the start of this page.
What We Will Do
1. Local Resolution
Contact the Practice
Your complaint should be made in the first instance to the Practice. Again, we hope that most problems can be sorted out quickly and easily, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. You can contact the Practice Business Manager, Lucy Murdoch, or any of the GP Partners either by telephone or by appointment, to discuss the problem so that we can find out the full details of your concerns and respond to these as soon as possible. Our main telephone number is 01904 490532.
Alternatively, if it is not possible for you to speak with us to explain your problem, you should write to Lucy Murdoch or any of the Partners at:
MyHealth
Strensall Health Care Centre Southfields Road
Strensall
YORK
YO32 5UA
We shall acknowledge your complaint as quickly as possible, but within at least five working days and aim to have fully investigated your complaint within twenty working days of the date of our acknowledgement of your concern. We shall then be in a position to offer you an explanation, or a meeting with the people involved, if you so wish. When we look into your complaint we shall aim to:
- Find out what happened and what went wrong
- Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this
- Where appropriate, apologise
- Where possible, sort out the problem to your satisfaction
- Identify what we can do to make sure that the problem doesn’t happen
- again and tell you about any decisions made.
It may be that other bodies (eg, secondary care/community services) will need to be contacted to provide evidence. If that is the case, then a patient consent form will need to be obtained at the start of the process and a pro-forma consent form included with the initial acknowledgement for return.
If it is not possible to conclude any investigations within the advised timescale, then the complainant must be updated with progress and revised time scales on a regular basis. In most cases these should be completed within six months unless all parties agree to an extension.
If you are not happy with our response
If, after our best efforts, you still think that we have not fully answered your complaint or you are not happy with our decision, you should contact the Health Service Ombudsman using the details provided below.
Complain to the Ombudsman
If, after receiving our final decision, 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.
Address:
Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman
Tower 30
Millbank
London SW1P 4QP
Phone: 0345 015 4033
Give feedback or make a complaint
You can complain to a member of staff at the NHS service you went to, such as a GP surgery or hospital, or you can complain to the organisation in charge.