Practice Complaints Procedure Complaint Form
If you 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 complaints procedure as part of a NHS system for dealing with complains. Our complaints system meets national criteria.
How to complain
We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at that time they arise and with the person concerned. If you 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 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 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.
Complaints should be addressed to the Practice Manager, verbally or in writing. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with the Practice Manager in order to discuss your concerns. She 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.
What we shall do
We shall acknowledge your complaint within three working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within ten working days of the date you raised it with us. We shall then be in a position to offer you and explanation, or a meeting with the people involved. When we look into your complaint, we shall aim to:
- Find out what happened and what went wrong.
- Make it possible for you to discuss with those concerned, if you would like this.
- Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate.
- Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not 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.
Complaining to the ICB
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. But this does not affect your right to approach the local Care Trust, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us or you are dissatisfied with the results of our investigation. You should contact:
From 1 July 2023, NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB will hold delegated responsibility for complaints handling for primary care services; this includes GPs, dentists, pharmacists and opticians, and was previously the responsibility of NHS England.
These complaints will be managed by the Office of the West Midlands, Primary Care Complaints Team, hosted by NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB. This team will hold overall responsibility for the handling of the complaint through to completion. Please visit their website for more details.
Any concerns and or complaints which relate to our primary care services will be initially received by NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB’s Patient Experience Team (contact details below) to undertake any local resolution in the first instance and only if this is unsuccessful will the complaint be referred into either the relevant primary care provider or referred to the Office of the West Midlands Primary Care Complaints Team to facilitate the complaints handling and investigation of the formal complaint.
Your complaint should be made as soon as possible. This should be within a year of the event, or as soon as it came to your attention. You can make a complaint about something that has happened to you, or on behalf of someone else, if you have their permission.
- Write to: NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board, Patient Experience and Complaints Team, Alpha Tower, 8th Floor, Suffolk Street Queensway, Birmingham, B1 1TT
- Email for complaints and patient enquiries: [email protected]
- Call: 0121 203 3313
You can also contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service based in Solihull Hospital, Telephone number 0121 424 1212.
