Suggestions, comments and complaints

Let the practice know your views

Dudley Wood Surgery is always looking for ways to improve the services it offers to patients. To do this effectively, the practice needs to know what you think about the services you receive. Tell us what we do best, where we don’t meet your expectations plus any ideas and suggestions you may have. Only by listening to you can the practice continue to build and improve upon the service it offers.

Our aim is to provide the highest level of care for all our patients. We will always be willing to hear if there is any way that you think that we can improve the service we provide. If you would like to give us any feedback or wish to make a complaint, please complete our Feedback form.

Complaints procedure

If you have a complaint about the service you have received from any member of staff working in this practice, please let us know. The practice operates a complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.

If you make a complaint, it is practice policy to ensure you are not discriminated against or subjected to any negative effect on your care, treatment or support.

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out this way and you wish to make a formal complaint, please write to the Practice Manager.

If the complaint can not be resolved internally then patients are able to write to NHS England for the complaint to be investigated thoroughly.

How to complain

In the first instance please discuss your complaint with the staff member concerned. Where the issue cannot be resolved at this stage, please contact Nicki Mott Practice Manager who will try to resolve the issue and offer you further advice on the complaints procedure. If your problem cannot be resolved at this stage and you wish to make a formal complaint, please let us know as soon as possible, ideally within a matter of days. This will enable the practice to get a clear picture of the circumstances surrounding the complaint.

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

  • Within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem or
  • Within 12 months from when the complaint comes to your notice

The practice will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days.

Dudley Wood Surgery will arrange a meeting with you to discuss the complaint, to agree with you how the complaint is going to be investigated and the timescale for this to be completed.

When the practice looks into your complaint it aims to:

  • Ascertain the full circumstances of the complaint
  • Make arrangements for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this
  • Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate
  • Identify what the practice can do to make sure the problem does not happen again

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please note that Dudley Wood Surgery keeps strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, the practice needs to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be required, unless they are incapable of providing this due to illness or disability.

Complaining to other authorities

The surgery management team hope that if you have a problem you will use the Practice Complaints Procedure.

However, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us, you can contact any of the following bodies:

Contacting the Care Quality Commission

If you have a genuine concern about a staff member or regulated activity carried on by this surgery, then you can contact the Care Quality Commission on 03000 616161, or alternatively visit their website: www.cqc.org.uk.

NHS complaints advocacy service

This is a national service that supports people who want to make a complaint about their NHS Care or treatment. Your local service can be found by contacting your local health authority. Visit the Power website for more information about NHS complaints Advocacy.

Ombudsman

If you are not happy with the response from this practice, you can refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman who investigates complaints about the NHS in England.

You can call the Ombudsman’s Complaints Helpline on 0345 015 4033, visit www.ombudsman.org.uk or Textphone (Minicom) 0300 061 4298.