Suggestions and Complaints

 

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Practice Complaints Procedure

If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this partnership, please let us know. We operate a practice complaints procedure as part of an NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.

 

How to complain

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time that they arise and with the person concerned. If your complaint cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible - ideally within a matter of days or at most a few weeks - because this will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint: 

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

Complaints should be made in writing and addressed to the Practice Manager, or to any of the Doctors and can be emailed using our secure online form

 

What we will do

We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days and aim to have looked into your complaint and respond to you as soon as we are able . We will then be in a position to offer you an explanation or a meeting with the people involved. When we look into your complaint we will 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
  • Make sure that you receive an apology, where this is appropriate
  • Identify what we can do to make sure that the problem doesn't happen again
 

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.

 

Taking It Further

We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure. We believe that this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice. However, if you do not wish to discuss your complaint with the partnership, you should contact NHS England at the following address:

NHS England
Comments and Complaints
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

  • Tel: 0300 311 2233 – Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, excluding bank holidays.
  • E-mail: england.contactus@nhs.net. Please write ‘For the attention of the Complaints Manager’ in the subject line. 
  • NHS Website

If you have concerns about a health service provided within Southampton City please contact the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) at the following address:

Patient Services
NHS Southampton City CCG
Oakley Road
Southampton
SO16 4GX

You also have the right to request an independent review if you feel that you cannot raise your complaint with us, Southampton City CCG or NHS England or if you are dissatisfied with the result of any investigation. If you wish to pursue this option you should contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman at the following address:

The Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman
Citygate
Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HQ

Their role is to investigate complaints that individuals have been treated unfairly or have received poor service from government departments and other public organisations and the NHS in England. They are a free service open to everyone.

Support with NHS Complaints Advocacy – Healthwatch Southampton and seAp works closely with the NHS Complaints Advocacy service.
Contacts details can be found on their websites