We welcome and appreciate any views or suggestions you may have regarding any aspect of our service, including our website.
Please let us know about your experiences, both good and not-so-good.
We aim to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.
However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If so, we wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and amicably, as possible.
Complaints Procedure – Patient Information
Including Data Protection Complaints
It is very important to us that we provide the best service to our patients and those who use our services. We welcome your comments, suggestions, concerns and complaints about the care or service you have received from the doctors or any member of staff working at this practice.
We use complaints and feedback to help us improve the services we provide.
Our complaints procedure includes complaints relating to the use of personal information and data protection matters. This includes concerns about how we collect, use, store, share or protect your personal information.
How to make a complaint
If you have a complaint or concern, please let us know as soon as possible.
We operate a practice complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints process meets national requirements and applies to all complaints, including concerns relating to data protection and information governance.
Most problems can often be resolved quickly by speaking with the person involved. If your concern cannot be resolved in this way and you wish to make a formal complaint, please contact us as soon as possible.
Where possible, complaints should be made:
- 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.
We will consider complaints outside these timescales where there is a valid reason, and it is still possible to investigate the concerns fairly.
How to contact us
You can make a complaint by:
Post: Telephone:
Complaints Manager – Lynne Holden 01942 367 635
If your complaint relates specifically to data protection, confidentiality, access to your information, or the handling of your personal data, this will be handled through the same complaints process and may also involve the Practice Data Protection Officer (DPO) / Information Governance lead where appropriate.
You may request an appointment with the Complaints Manager to discuss your concerns. They will explain the complaints process and ensure your concerns are handled appropriately.
It will help us investigate your complaint if you provide as much detail as possible, including dates, names of staff involved (if known), and what you feel has gone wrong.
What we will do
We will aim to acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days of receiving it.
We aim to investigate and respond to complaints within 10 working days where possible. If a longer investigation is required, we will explain the reason for the delay and keep you updated.
When investigating your complaint, we will aim to:
- Find out what happened and what went wrong
- Review the information available and speak with those involved
- Address any concerns about the handling of your personal information
- Explain our findings clearly
- Provide an apology where appropriate
- Identify improvements we can make to prevent the issue happening again
All complaints, including data protection and information governance complaints, will be recorded appropriately on our complaints log and monitored as part of our quality improvement processes.
Data Protection Complaints
If your complaint relates to data protection, we will review whether your personal information has been handled in accordance with relevant data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and other applicable requirements.
Examples of data protection complaints may include concerns about:
- Unauthorised access to your information
- Sharing of information incorrectly
- Loss or inappropriate handling of personal information
- How your information is stored or used
- Requests relating to your information
Your complaint will be reviewed by the appropriate person within the practice, including the Data Protection Officer / Information Governance lead where required.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
Please note that we must protect patient confidentiality.
If you are making a complaint on behalf of someone else, we must have confirmation that you have their permission to do so.
A signed consent letter from the person concerned may be required, unless they are unable to provide this because of illness or another valid reason.
Complaining to the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board
If you wish to raise your complaint with the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board, you can contact:
Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board – Patient Services
Website: https://gmintegratedcare.org.uk/have-your-say/contact-us/
Email: [email protected]
Complaining to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
If your complaint relates specifically to how your personal information has been handled and you remain unhappy after we have investigated your concerns, you have the right to raise your concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The ICO is the independent regulator responsible for upholding information rights.
Website: https://ico.org.uk/
Complaining to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)
We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure first. We believe this gives us the best opportunity to investigate what has happened, resolve concerns and improve our services.
If you remain dissatisfied after our investigation, you may ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to review your complaint.
The PHSO can be contacted at:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
Telephone: 0345 015 4033
Email: [email protected]
The PHSO would normally expect complaints to be submitted within 12 months; however, you should contact them as soon as possible after completing the local complaints process.
If you would prefer to keep your feedback anonymous we would still very much like to hear from you.
