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Complaints Procedure

 
image depicting complaints

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 the National Health Service system for dealing with complaints.  Our complaints system meets with the national criteria.

How to complain:

  • We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned.
  • If your 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. This should be done in writing ideally, within a matter of days or at most, a week to enable us to establish what happened accurately.

Complaints can be made verbally or in writing.  A complaints form is available from Reception.  Additionally, you can complain via our online form.

What we shall do

  • We shall acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three business days.
  • We will aim to investigate and provide you with the findings as soon as we can and will provide an update regarding the investigation of your complaint.  We shall then be in a position to offer you the results of our investigation or if necessary, a meeting with the people involved.

When we look into your complaint, we shall aim to:

  • Find out what happened.
  • Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this.
  • Make sure you receive an apology or full explanation where this is appropriate.
  • Identify what we can do to ensure 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 required, unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.

Our contact details:

  • Practice Manager:  Gerry O’Leary
  • Address:  Harston Surgery, 11 Church Street, Harston, Cambridge, CB22 7NP
  • Tel:  01223 870250 

What to do if you are not satisfied:

We hope that if you have a problem you will use our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice. If you are still unhappy with the final response to your complaint and would like to take the matter further, you have the right to contact the services listed below:

  • PALS (Patient Advice & liaison Service) 
  • CCS-TR.PALS@nhs.net or 0300 131 1000

Ombudsman 

Patients can refer to the The Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman. 
All records will have to be provided to the ombudsman to assist in the resolution of the complaint http://www.ombudsman.org.uk or The Parliamentary 7 Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP

  • Health Complaints and Advocacy Service (HACS) can provide free, impartial, and independent information, advocacy and support to members of the public, wishing to make a formal complaint about the National Health Service. 
  • POhWER, the independent complaints advocacy service on: 0300 456 2370.
  • Please let us know when we have done something well. Positive feedback inspires us to work harder for our patients. Patient experience is important to us in order to acknowledge things going well and also identify areas of improvement.
  • Positive feedback can be to our admin email address or the Family and Friend forms can be completed either online or at the surgery.