Old Road Medical Practice is always looking for ways to improve the services it offers to patients.  To do this effectively, the Practice needs to know what you think about the services you receive.  Tell us what we do best, where we don’t meet your expectations plus any ideas and suggestions you may have.  Only by listening to you can the Practice continue to build and improve upon the service it offers. If you would like to leave feedback, you can use the Practice Feedback form to do so.

Practice Complaints Procedure

If you have a complaint about the service you have received from any member of staff working in this practice, please let us know.  The Practice operates a Complaints Procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.

Note: If you make a complaint it is Practice policy to ensure you are not discriminated against, or subject to any negative effect on your care, treatment or support.

How to complain

In the first instance please discuss your complaint with the staff member concerned.  Where the issue cannot be resolved at this stage, please contact Joe Oxley, Practice Manager, who will try to resolve the issue and offer you further advise on the complaints procedure.  If your problem cannot be resolved at this stage and you wish to make a formal complaint, please let us know as soon as possible, ideally within a matter of day.  This will enable the Practice to get a clear picture of the circumstances surrounding the complaint.

If it is not possible to raise your complaint immediately, please let us have details of your complaint within the following timescales:

• Within 2 months of the incident that caused the problem

OR

• Within 12 months from when the complaint comes to your notice.

The Practice will acknowledge your complaint within three working days.

The Practice will arrange a meeting with you to discuss the complaint, to agree with you how the complaint is going to be investigat4ed and the timescale for this to be completed.

When the Practice looks into your complaint it aims to:

• Ascertain the full circumstances of the complaint
• Make arrangements for you to discuss the problem with those concerned if you would like this
• Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate
• Identify what the Practice can do to make sure the problem does not happen again

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please note that Old Road Medical Practice keeps strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality.  If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, the Practice needs to know that you have their permission to do so.  A note signed by the person concerned will be required, unless they are incapable of providing this due to illness or disability.

Complaining to other authorities

The practice management team hope that if you have a problem you will use the Practice Complaints Procedure.

However, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us, you can contact any of the following:

PALS, Colchester Primary Care Centre, Turner Road, Colchester CO4 5JR

Tel: 01206 26939    Email: pals.nee@nhs.net

Advocacy Service

Helpline: 0300 3305454     Textline: 0786 0022939   Email: nhscomplaints@voiceability.org

NHS North East Essex CCG

Tel: 01206 286500    Email: neeccg.complaints@nhs.net

NHS England, PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT

Contacting the Care Quality Commission

If you have a genuine concern about a staff member or regulated activity carried on by this Practice then you can contact the Care Quality Commission on 0300 0616161.

Ombudsman

If you are not happy with the response from this Practice, you can refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman who investigates complaints about the NHS in England.

You can call the Ombudsman’s Complaints Helpline on 0345 015 4033 or Textphone (Minicom): 0300 061 4298.