Comments & Complaints
If you have any complaints, observations or suggestions about the way in which our practice works, please address them in the first instance to our Practice Manager. We do not accept official complaints via this web site or email.
Please rest assured that we do our best to make your dealings with the surgery a pleasant, effective and efficient process but we recognise that we may not always get things right. If you tell us what has happened we will investigate it thoroughly, send you a response and hope to learn from the event.
You can, of course, tell us if we do something particularly well or if you have been especially helped by an individual member of our team ....... we learn from the good things as well as from occasions when something may not be done quite so well.
Positive comments, complaints and significant incidents are shared by the whole team and we treat them as a learning experience so that we can strive to improve our service.
Our Complaints Policy
If you have any complaint or concern about the service that you have received from the doctors or staff working in this practice, you are entitled to ask for an explanation.
Our procedure does not deal with matters of legal liability or compensation and does not affect your right to seek compensation in law.
We operate an informal, in-house, complaints procedure to deal with this. In some cases, the in-house procedure is not an appropriate form of investigation, in which case you will be referred to the appropriate authority.
Our complaints procedure does not affect your right to make a formal complaint to either the Primary Care Trust (NHS Norfolk) or the Strategic Health Authority.
Our Practice Manager will ensure that your complaint is investigated as thoroughly and speedily as possible by the most appropriate person(s) in the practice. Complaints about your clinical treatment will be investigated by a clinician and not by a manager. If you are complaining about a practice policy or procedure, one of our managers will investigate the matter and reply to you. We aim to respond to you within ten working days.
If your complaint is complex or if it concerns a member of staff who is absent, we may require longer than ten working days in order to complete our investigations.
At all times we will do our utmost to keep you informed about the progress of your complaint.
Making a complaint will not prejudice your treatment at the practice or in the wider NHS. Details of any complaint are not filed with your medical records but are kept completely separately.
How do I make a complaint?
Please ask for a copy of the Practice Complaint Leaflet and Form. You can request this by email, letter, telephone or in person at the reception desk.
You do not have to use the form if you prefer to set out your complaint in your own way.
The Health Service Ombudsman The Health Service Ombudsman has published a booklet that describes the ‘six principles for remedy’ in relation to complaints handling and involves:
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Getting it right.
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Being customer focused.
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Being open and accountable.
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Acting fairly and proportionately.
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Putting things right.
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Seeking continuous improvements.
If you remain unhappy after everything has been done to try to resolve your concern or complaint you have the right to approach the Ombudsman.
The contact details are as follows:-
- Telephone: 0345 015 4033
- Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
- By post: Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4QP.