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Complaints Procedure

Downend Health Group is always looking for ways to improve the services it offers to patients. To do this effectively, the practice welcomes concerns, compliments and complaints as valuable feedback that can help us learn from experiences and make improvements to the services we offer.

Giving Feedback

Tell us what we do best, where we do not meet your expectations, and any ideas or suggestions you may have. Only by listening to you can the practice continue to build and improve upon the service it offers.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about the service you have received from the practice, please let us know. The practice operates a complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints and meets national guidance.

How to register a complaint

Our practice procedure aims to investigate any concerns that you may have and to provide you with an explanation that resolves your concern. We hope you will use this process to allow us to look into and, where we need to, put right any problems you have identified or mistakes that have been made.

We hope that most problems can be sorted out at the time they arise, and often a discussion with a particular member of our team may be sufficient to put matters right for you quickly. 

If it is not possible to raise your complaint immediately, please let us have details of your complaint within the following timescales:

  • Within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem OR
  • Within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the original problem

You may speak to any member of our Patient Advisor team in person, or alternatively you can address any concerns to us in writing. 

The practice will acknowledge your complaint within three working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within 30 working days of the date you raised it with us.

What we will do

When we look at your complaint, we shall aim to:

  • Find out what happened and whether anything went wrong
  • Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like
  • Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate
  • Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again

Complaining on behalf of somebody else

Please note the practice strictly adheres to the rules of medical confidentiality. The practice requires a signed and dated letter from the patient in instances where an individual complains on the patient’s behalf. The only exclusion is if the patient is unable to provide this due to medical reasons.

Complaining to other Authorities

We hope that if you have a concern you will raise it directly with the team. The practice employs a Patient Experience Lead who can support you to follow the practice complaints procedure.

However, if you feel you are unable to raise your complaint with us, or you are dissatisfied with the response you have received from us, you are able to contact either of the following organisations for further advice:

NHS England

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

  • Tel: 0345 015 4033   

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