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Give feedback or make a complaint

 

Giving feedback

We welcome feedback as it’s useful to improve our services. If you wish to share your views and experiences, positive or negative, simply speak with a member of staff or contact us in one of the following ways:

Contact us in writing

Complete our feedback form (Friends and Family Test (FFT))

You’ll be asked to answer a short form which asks you about the experience you've had using our services.

This type of feedback is anonymous, which means we will not know who it is from and will not be able to reply to you.

Give Feedback (Friends & Family Test)

Join our Patient Participation Group (PPG)

Being part of a Patient Participation Group allows you to get involved in what we do in the practice. You can tell us how we can meet your needs as a patient.

If you don’t want to join a PPG but might be interested in helping us design our services when we make changes, please submit your details via the link below

Join our patient participation group

How to complain

We hope that most issues can be resolved by speaking with us. However, if your issue is not resolved you may wish to make a complaint.

When to make a complaint

If you wish to make a complaint, please do so as soon as possible as this enables us to establish what happened more easily. If that’s not possible, you should make the complaint within 12 months of the incident, or of you discovering the problem.

We operate an informal, in-house complaints procedure to deal with your complaints. This procedure does not deal with matters of legal liability or compensation. In some cases the in-house procedure is not an appropriate form to investigation, in which case you will be referred to the appropriate authority.

This procedure does not affect your right to make a formal complaint to South West London ICB if you so wish. Nor does it affect your right to seek compensation in law.

Who can make a complaint?

We keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you're a registered patient you can make a complaint about your own care however we cannot provide confidential information without appropriate authority if you are not the patient in question.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

If you are not the patient, but are complaining on their behalf, you must have their permission to do so. An authority signed by the person concerned will be needed (this can be found at the bottom of our complaints form or provided in writing), unless they are incapable (because of illness or infirmity) of providing this.

How to make a complaint

You can talk to us about your complaint or put your complaint in writing by post or by using our complaints form. If writing please address your letter to our practice manager, Tracey Fossaluzza, who will ensure that it is investigated thoroughly and as speedily as possible.

You will need to include:

  • your full name
  • your date of birth
  • details of the incident, including dates, times and names of people involved, if you know them

Can I get help to make my complaint?

We can help you to write down your complaint if you feel you need help to do so. Please speak to a member of staff who can arrange for a member of the management team who will be pleased to assist you.

Guidance on how to make a complaint

Advocacy

An NHS complaints advocate is independent of the NHS and may help you write a letter, attend a meeting with you or explain the options available to you. This service is free to anyone making a complaint about their NHS treatment or care.

How do I find a complaints advocate?

What happens next?

We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days. We aim to report back to you within a maximum of 21 working days although, in some cases, more time may be required. Any delays to our response will be communicated with you.

Your complaint will then be investigated by a member of the management team or practice partners. It is possible that, as a first step, the investigator will contact you directly to ensure that he or she fully understands your complaint. The investigator will then interview appropriate members of the practice staff and may inspect relevant documents.

At the conclusion of the investigation you will be sent a full written response and you will be invited to a meeting with your GP and/or Practice Manager as appropriate, where your complaint will be discussed with you in detail should you wish to do so. Our written response will also include details regarding your rights to escalate the matter further should you remain dissatisfied with our response.

In the event that you are not happy with the finding of the practice’s investigation, you have the right to refer your complaint to the health Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is independent of government and the NHS. Her service is confidential and free. There are time limits for taking a complaint to the Ombudsman, although they can waive them if they think there is a good reason to do so.

If you have questions about whether the Ombudsman will be able to help you, or about how to make a complaint, you can contact them via the helpline on 0345 015 4033 or via the Ombudsman website

How do we learn from your feedback?

Feedback and complaints are discussed at staff training sessions and practice meetings to enable us to improve our service to our patients.