If you have a complaint or concern about the service you receive from the doctors or any of the staff working in the practice, please let us know. We operate a practice complaints procedure as part of a 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 they arise and with the person concerned.

If your problem 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 establish what happened more easily. We ask that whenever possible you make your complaint within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem, or within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem provided this is within 12 months of the incident.

This 12 month limit does not apply if the responsible body is satisfied that:

• There were good reasons for not making the complaint within that time limit
• Despite the delay, it is still possible to investigate matters effectively and fairly

Complaints should be submitted through our website at: www.windrushmedicalpractice.co.uk/navigator/complaints

If you do not have internet access you can put your complaint in writing and deliver this to our Patient Services Team (Level 1 reception). Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with one of the line managers in order to discuss your concerns. The line manager can then escalate this to the practice Manager where necessary. The line manager will explain the complaints procedure 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.

Our line managers are:

• Mrs Hattie Clay – Practice Manager
• Mrs Tracey Walker – Patient Services Team
• Miss Hannah Drew-Smythe – Nursing/HCA
• Mrs Stacey Rafferty – Facilities
• Mrs Cher Kominek – Dispensary
• Mrs Becky Goodchild – Administration/Secretarial

Complaints made orally and resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction not later than the next working day are not recorded.

What we shall do

• Written complaints will be acknowledged within 3 working days and we will include you in the discussion about how the complaint will be handled and the likely period for completion of the investigation.
• We will send you a written response as soon as reasonably practicable after completing the investigation. (This response may be electronic if the complainant has consented in writing or electronically and has not withdrawn that consent.)
• This response will include an explanation of how the complaint has been considered, the conclusions reached, and details of your right to take your complaint to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Health (the Ombudsman).

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. You will be required to complete the advocacy complaint consent section within the complaints form unless they are incapable (because of age, illness or mental incapacity). In these circumstances we would require authority from the person holding the Power of Attorney.

Our commitment to you

Our commitment to you at Windrush Medical Practice, aims to ensure you receive the highest quality health services. We care about getting it right for you the first time and every time and welcome your comments, compliments, concerns and complaints. We take you seriously, listen carefully and do everything we can to ensure you are satisfied with our services. We are committed to feeding back patients’ experiences to the team and learning from these. All matters are dealt with in confidence. However, it may be necessary to share certain information with other parties in which case we will seek your permission in advance of this. Any information relating to your complaints will be stored separately from your health care records. This will not impact on your health care. We want to make sure that if you do complain you have a positive outcome.

Our principles are

• To get it right
• To be patient focussed
• To be open and accountable
• To act fairly and proportionately
• To put things right
• To strive for continuous improvement

We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure as above to ensure it is resolved to your satisfaction. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice.

Complaining to NHS England

We hope that, if you have an issue, you will use our practice complaints procedure as we believe this will give us the best opportunity to put right whatever has gone wrong. However, there may be an occasion where you feel unable to communicate with us and you may prefer to approach the commissioner of Primary Care Services.

As of 1st July 2023, if you wish to make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner, the way to do this is changing. The NHS England South East complaints process is now hosted by Frimley ICB for the region. Rather than contacting NHS England, you are now advised to contact the Complaints team via the new contact details below:

South East Complaints Hub
NHS Frimley ICB
Aldershot Centre for Health
Hospital Hill
Aldershot
Hampshire
GU11 1AY

Phone number: 0300 561 0290
Email address: Frimleyicb.southeastcomplaints@nhs.net

More information can be found on the BOB ICB website.

How do I find the commissioner?

Contact your local integrated care board (ICB) for complaints about primary care services (GPs, dentists, opticians or pharmacists) and secondary care, such as hospital care, mental health services, out-of-hours services, NHS 111 and community services like district nursing.

To make a complaint: www.bucksoxonberksw.icb.nhs.uk/make-a-complaint

Contact NHS England for complaints about healthcare in prison, military health services, and specialised services that support people with a range of rare and complex conditions.

• Find out about complaining to NHS England

Contact your local council if your complaint is about public health organisations, which provide services that prevent disease, promote health and prolong life.

• Find your local council on GOV.UK

Health Service Ombudsman

If, at the end of the complaint process, you are not satisfied with the outcome, you have the option to contact the Health Service Ombudsman to request an independent review of your complaint.

Helpline: 0345 015 4033
Email: Phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk
Postal Address:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Citygate
Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HQ

Please note that if you approach the Ombudsman directly without using our practice complaints procedure first, they may refer you back to us so we have the chance to resolve your complaint locally.

NHS Complaints Advocacy Service

Voice Ability provide a free, independent and confidential advocacy service to support people with their NHS complaint.

NHS complaints advocacy: www.voiceability.org/nhs-complaints-advocacy

• Easy Read – How to make a complaint