We welcome all feedback and complaints. Your feedback comments and suggestions are important to us, regarding good or bad experiences. We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends the surgery. However, we are aware things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling they have a genuine cause for complaint. Please be reassured your care and that of your family will not be compromised as a result of making a complaint or submitting any feedback.
You will receive acknowledgement of your complaint within 3 working days after it is received if a manager is not available to speak with you on the day.
Complaints should be made within 12 months of the event or of the complainant knowing they had cause to complain.
All complaints received are sent to our complaints managers to investigate. Our complaints managers are, Sally Smeaton, Hayley Pomfret and Martin Randall. You will be contacted within two weeks by your assigned complaints manager to discuss the investigation. More complex concerns may take longer to fully investigate; however, we will keep you informed of any delays. One of our team may need to contact you for further information during the investigation, so it is important we have the preferred contact details for you to prevent any delay.
On completion, we will contact you to explain the investigation, the findings and set out any agreed follow up actions with you. We will follow this up in writing, signed off by our complaint’s responsible person.
Advocacy services
If you are making a formal complaint, you are entitled to ask for an advocate to support you. Requests for an advocate can be made with the advocacy services listed below, their services are free of charge.
Advocacy services for Health Complaints for people living in Torbay and Plymouth is provided by The Advocacy People.
Contact:
PO Box 375
Hastings
TN34 9HU
Tel: 0330 440 9000
or visit: www.theadvocacypeople.org.uk
For people living in the rest of Devon (including Torbay & Plymouth Non-Health complaints), advocacy is provided by Devon Advocacy Consortium.
Email: devonadvocacy@livingoptions.org
Phone: 0845 231 1900
If you are not happy with the way your complaint has been dealt with and would like to take the matter further, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) which makes final decisions on unresolved complaints about the NHS in England. It is an independent service which is free for everyone to use.
To take your complaint to the Ombudsman, visit the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website or call 0345 015 4033.
The practice is required to complete an annual data return to NHS Digital (now part of NHS England) for all our complaints.
This complaints policy is available on our website, displayed in the practice and printable versions are also available from reception.
How can I give feedback or make a complaint?
If you would like to leave your feedback or make a complaint about the care you have received, please contact us by telephone or, if you prefer, in writing or by completing the form HERE. Every effort will be made to answer your concerns as soon as possible.
