Complaints Procedure
Patient Complaint Procedure If you have a complaint or concern about the service that you have received from the doctors or staff working for Park Lane Practice, you are entitled to ask for an explanation. We operate an in-house Practice Complaints Procedure for dealing with complaints which is in line with the NHS Complaints Procedure.
HOW TO COMPLAIN
Firstly, we would like to say that we always aim to be able to resolve any complaint quickly, simply and with minimal fuss without the need for you to write to us. We like to resolve issues and complaints on the spot or as quickly as possible. Making complaints can be difficult, time consuming and emotional and we do not want you to experience any unnecessary upset when you are already unhappy about something we have or have not done for you or the person for whom you are raising the issue/making the complaint.
As mentioned, we hope that we can sort most problems out easily and quickly – often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. However, if we cannot sort your issue(s) out straight away or as quickly as you want them resolved and you want to make a formal complaint, please do so AS SOON AS POSSIBLE – ideally within a matter of a few days. Doing this is will help us to establish exactly what happened more easily. If doing that is not possible your complaint should be submitted within 12 months of the incident(s) 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 Manager. If it is easier, you can use the attached form. The Practice 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 so that the issues are clear and we understand not only the issues you are raising but also what you would like us to do about them if you can.
You can get free support, at any time, from your local independent complaints advocacy service.
This is provided by xxxxxxxxxxx which is an Independent Complaints Advocacy Service. You can contact them by telephone: – 0300 303 1660 or by email: helpline@voiceability.org. They can write letters for you and help you present your case, if you wish.
COMPLAINING ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE
Please note that the Practice keeps strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality which means that if you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we must have their explicit written 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 in which case a legal authority will be required e.g. enduring power of attorney or an Order of the Court of Protection. A Third Party Consent Form is provided below.
WHAT WE WILL DO
We will usually acknowledge your written complaint within 3 working days, and we will aim to have fully investigated within 25 working days of the date it was received. If investigations are expected to take longer, we will explain the reason for the delay and tell you when we expect to finish. When we look into your complaint, we will investigate the circumstances; give you the outcome of our investigations as they relate to the issue(s) about which you have complained; make sure you receive an apology if this is appropriate and take steps to make sure any problem does not arise again. We may offer a meeting with relevant people at the practice to discuss your complaint and the issues you have raised if this is thought to be a helpful intervention in order to resolve your complaint.
You will receive a final letter setting out the result of any practice investigations.
TAKING IT FURTHER – see NHS Complaints Procedure below
The NHS complaints procedure
Most medical care and treatment goes well, but things occasionally go wrong, and you may want to complain. So where do you start? Every NHS organisation has a complaints procedure. To find out about it, ask a member of staff, look on the hospital or trust’s website, or contact the complaints department for more information. You may want to make positive comments on the care and services that you’ve received. These comments are just as important because they tell NHS organisations which factors are contributing to a good experience for patients.
WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS?
If you are not happy with the care or treatment you have received or you have been refused treatment for a condition, you have the right to complain, have your complaint investigated, and be given a full and prompt reply. The NHS Constitution explains your rights when it comes to making a complaint. You have the right to:
• have your complaint dealt with efficiently, and properly investigated,
• know the outcome of any investigation into your complaint,
• take your complaint to the independent Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman if you’re not satisfied with the way the NHS has dealt with your complaint,
• make a claim for judicial review if you think you’ve been directly affected by an unlawful act or decision of an NHS body, and
• receive compensation if you’ve been harmed.
From the 1st July 2023 the way members of the public make a complaint about GP services to the commissioners is changing and now, instead of contacting NHS England, patients need to contact the Integrated Care Board of the NW region.
If you have a comment or complaint about GP services, we always try to resolve it locally. If you prefer you can contact the Integrated Care Board of the NW region directly as follows:
Telephone Office for Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and South Cumbria Tel: 0151 285 4777
Write to Complaints Team Office for Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and South Cumbria, Regatta Place, Summers Road, Brunswick Business Park, Liverpool, Merseyside, L3 4BL
Encouraging Equality & Diversity, Eliminating Discrimination
We will never discriminate based on gender, marital status, race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, religion or age.
Freedom of Information Requests
For any FOI requests, please contact your practice manager.
GP Earnings
All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.
The average pay for GPs working in Park Lane Surgery in the last financial year was £69,104 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 1 full time GP and 8 part time GPs who worked in the practice.
How We Handle Missed Appointments
- Patients must wait longer for appointments
- Both staff and patients are frustrated
- Resources are wasted
Our ‘Did Not Attend’ Policy aims to reduce the impact of missed appointments.
After two missed appointments – one after the other – where we weren’t informed, we’ll contact you by letter to ask whether there are any problems that stand in the way of you easily accessing the surgery. If there’s anything we can do to help, please let us know. The letter will also advise you that any further missed appointments may mean that you’re removed from our patient list. This letter (known as a warning letter), will be valid for 12 months.
If you miss another appointment within 12 months – our team will discuss the next step. If most of our team agrees, you’ll be removed from our practice as a patient. If this happens, we’ll send you a letter to inform you of the outcome. This will ask you to find an alternative GP practice.
How We Look After Your Confidentiality & Medical Records
- We need to provide you with further medical treatment – for example, sharing information between your district nurse and the hospital you’ll be treated at.
- To help you access other services – for example, to social workers (we’ll always ask your consent first).
- We have a duty to others – for example, in child protection cases we may provide anonymous patient information that could help with government planning (if you’d prefer that anonymous information about you is not used in this way, just let us know).
- For day-to-day operations – for example, our reception and administrative staff require access to your medical records so they can do their jobs. Rest assured – our entire team work to the same rules of confidentiality as our medical staff.
Text message reminders – Helping you to stay on top of your care
We can also recommend treatment for the management of a specific health issue, but we are not allowed to text you for marketing purposes.
Please contact your practice directly if you would like to opt-out of the text messaging reminder service.
The Summary Care Record – What it is and why it matters
Currently, the system holds information on your medications and allergies. In the future, more NHS staff will be able to access it, and hospitals, out of hour services, and specialists’ letters may also be added.
During an emergency, it’s easy to forget to mention something that’s important. In this instance the Summary Care Record can help medical professionals avoid making a mistake or encountering a problem. However you’ll always be asked whether it’s OK for us to see your records, unless you’re medically unable to do so.
If you have strong views about sharing your personal information and wish to keep your information at only our practice, you can.
You can opt out by completing this form: SCRConsentFormApr20_1.2.odt (live.com)
Your Privacy
Your Right to Access to Records
Your rights to your records are defined in the General Data Protection Regulations 2018 and Access to Health Records Act.
Worth knowing: We’ll never release any of your medical information without your consent unless we’re legally obliged to do so.
Zero Tolerance
The Practice takes it very seriously if a member of staff, a doctor, a nurse or patient is treated in an abusive or violent way.
The Practice supports the government’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ campaign for Health Service Staff. This states that GPs and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide these services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients has to be in place. All our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. They would respectfully remind patients that very often staff could be confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time. The staff understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint.
However, at no time will any violent, threatening or abusive behaviour be tolerated towards staff, patients or other visitors to the practice and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police being contacted.
In order for the practice to maintain good relations with their patients the practice would like to ask all its patients to read and take note of the occasional types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable:
· Using bad language or swearing at practice staff
· Any physical violence towards any member of the Primary Health Care Team or other patients, such as pushing or shoving
· Verbal abuse towards the staff or patients in any form including verbally insulting the staff.
· Sexism, racism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, ageism or harassment or abuse on basis of disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief will not be tolerated within this practice
· Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted. Requests will be met wherever possible and explanations given when they cannot
· Causing damage/stealing from the Practice’s premises, staff or patients
· Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently
We ask you to treat your GPs and their staff and other patients courteously at all times