If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the personnel working in this practice, please let us know.  We operate a practice complaint procedure as part of an NHS complaints system, which meets national criteria. 

HOW TO COMPLAIN

We hope that we can sort most problems out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If you wish to make a formal complaint, please do so AS SOON AS POSSIBLE - ideally within a matter of a few days. This will enable us to establish what happened more easily.  If doing that is not possible your complaint should be submitted within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem; or within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem. You should address your complaint in writing to the Practice Manager by downloading and completing our Patient Complaint form. Please read our guidance below first, and then scroll down to access the complaint form. 

On receipt of the Complaint Form, our Practice Manager will make sure that we deal with your concerns promptly and in the correct way. You should be as specific and concise as possible.

COMPLAINING ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE

We keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality (a separate leaflet giving more detail on confidentiality is available on request).  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, unless they are incapable (because of illness or infirmity) of providing this. A Third Party Consent Form is provided below.

WHAT WE WILL DO 

We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to have fully investigated within 10 working days of the date it was received.  If we expect it to take longer we will explain the reason for the delay and tell you when we expect to finish. When we look into your complaint, we will investigate the circumstances; make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned; make sure you receive an apology if this is appropriate, and take steps to make sure any problem does not arise again. 

You will receive a final letter setting out the result of any practice investigations.   This letter will have been reviewed by the Partners. 

If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome you may refer the matter to:

NHS England:

NHS (Commissioning Board) England
PO Box 16738
REDDITCH
B97 9PT

Tel: 0300 311 2233

Email: england.contactus@nhs.net

For local advice contact Healthwatch Dorset:

Healthwatch Dorset
Freepost BH1902
896 Christchurch Road
Bournemouth   BH7 6BR 

Tel: 0300 111 0102

www.healthwatchdorset.co.uk

For the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman: 

Millbank Tower
30 Millbank
Westminster
London  SW1P 4QP

Tel: 0345 015 4033

www.ombudsman.org.uk

Download and complete a Patient Complaint form here>>

Alternatively you may ask for a copy of the form from our Reception team.

On receipt of the form, our Practice Manager will deal with your concerns appropriately as outlined in the above procedure.