Untitled Document

PATIENT INFORMATION LEAFLET=

for biddulphdoctors<= /span>

The Medical Centre

Well Street

Biddulph<= /span>.<= /b> ST8 6HD

Tel:    01782 512822

Fax:   01782 510331

www.biddulphdoctors.co.uk

PATIENT COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

If yo= u have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this Practice, please let us know. We operate a Practice Complaint's Procedure as part of a NHS system for dealing with complaints and it is our wish to learn from complaints and put right whatever has gone wrong for the benefit of the complainant and future patients. Our complaints system meets the na= tional criteria.

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HOW TO COMPLAIN

We ho= pe 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 in this way and you wish to mak= e 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:

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·       Within twelve months of the incident that caused the problem or;=

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·       Within twelve months from when the matter came to the attention of the complainant= .

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Compl= aints should be addressed to either Mrs Jill Eardley (Practice Manager) or Miss D= awn Phipps (Deputy Practice Manager) or any of the doctors at biddulphdoctors, The Medical Centre, Well Street, Biddulph, Staffordshire.&= nbsp; ST8 6HD. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with Dr. P. J. Turner = (Complaints - Lead GP) in order to discuss your concerns. He will explain the complaints pro= cedure to you and will make sure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. It will be a great help if you are= as specific as possible about your complaint.

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WHAT WE WILL DO

We wi= ll acknowledge your complaint within three working days and aim to look into y= our complaint as soon as possible after this.&= nbsp; You will be offered the opportunity to discuss an agreed approach to your complaint either by telephone or in person. You will then be informed how the complaint is to be handled giving you details of how it is to be investigat= ed and of the expected timescales for a response. After an appropriate level of investigation 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 aim to:

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·       Find out what happened and what went wrong.

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·       Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you wou= ld like to.

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·       Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate.
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·       Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.

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COMPLAINING ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE

Pleas= e 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 concer= ned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.

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COMPLAINING TO NHS NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE

We ho= pe if you have a problem, you will use our Practice Complaints Procedure. We believe this will give us the b= est chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to impro= ve our Practice. But this does n= ot affect your right to approach the local Primary Care Trust if you feel you = cannot raise your complaint with us. However, you must choose at the outset whether to make a complaint to ourselves or NHS North Staffordshire (PCT) – you cannot do bot= h. If you wish to contact NHS North Staffordshire (PCT) you should contact the Patient Advisory Liaison Service= Officer for any informal complaints.

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Mrs Louise Johnson,

PALS Officer,<= /b>

NHS North Staffordshire,

Moorlands House.

Stockwell Street,

Leek,

Staffordshire.=

ST13 6HQ

Telephone: 0845 602 6772

for further advice.

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For f= ormal complaints, patients need to put their complaint in writing to:<= /span>

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Mrs Cathryn= Haigh,

Business Support and Complaints Manager,

NHS North Staffordshire,

Morston House,

The Midway,

Newcastle Un= der Lyme.

Staffordshire<= /b>

ST5 1QG

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If yo= u are still not satisfied with the response provided at local resolution you may refer the matter to:

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Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Millbank Tower

Millbank

London

SW1P 4QP

Telephone: 0345 015 4033

Fax:            = ; 0300 061 4000

Email:          phso.en= quiries@ombudsman.org.uk

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