Complaints Procedure – Patient Information

We operate a complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our system adheres to national criteria.

HOW TO COMPLAIN

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise. If your problem cannot be dealt with in this way and you wish to make a complaint, please let us know as soon as possible as this will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If it is not possible to do this, please let us have your complaint;

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

Complaints should be addressed to Miss P Pattinson, Complaints Manager. Alternatively, you could arrange an appointment with Miss Pattinson in order to discuss your concerns. The complaints procedure will be explained to you in detail.

WHAT WE SHALL DO

We shall acknowledge your complaint within 10 working days and aim to have your complaint investigated as soon as possible once we have collected all relevant information. We should then be in a position to offer you an explanation, or a meeting with those involved. We shall aim to;

• Find out what happened and what, if anything went wrong
• Make sure you receive an apology if this is appropriate
• Identify what we can do to ensure that the problem does not happen again

COMPLAINING ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE

Please note that we adhere strictly to the rules of confidentiality. If you wish to complain on behalf of someone else, we must have their written permission to do so, unless they are incapable of providing this through mental or physical disability.

If you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us or are dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint you should contact