Help us get it right
We constantly try to improve the service we offer.
Please let us know when you think we have done something well or if you have any suggestions as to how we can do something better.
Our aim is to provide the highest level of care for all our patients. We will always be willing to hear if there is any way that you think that we can improve the service we provide.
We always try to give you the best possible service, but there may be occasions when you feel this has not happened.
If you have any comments, complaints, compliments or concerns or about the services we offer, we want to hear about them.
We would encourage you to speak to whoever you feel most comfortable with – your doctor, nurse a receptionist or manager.
If you have a complaint to make, please don’t be afraid to say how you feel. We welcome feedback to help us improve our standards and you will not be treated any differently because you have complained.
However, we will do our best to put right anything that has gone wrong.
Making a Complaint
We hope that most problems can be sorted out quickly and easily with the person concerned, often at the time they arise, and this may be the approach you try first.
Where you are not able to resolve your complaint in this way and wish to make a formal complaint you should do so as soon as possible after the event and ideally within a few days, giving as much detail as you can, as this helps us to establish what happened more easily. In any event, this should be within 12 months of you becoming aware of the matter.
The Practice Complaints Manager will be pleased to deal with any complaint. She will explain the complaint’s process to you and make sure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. You can make your complaint:
In person or over the phone – ask to speak to the Practice Complaints Manager – Alyson Gledhill.
In writing – some complaints may be easier to explain in writing - please give as much information as can, then send your complaint to the practice for the attention of the Complaints Manager as soon as possible.
What We Do Next
We aim to settle complaints as soon as possible.
We will usually acknowledge receipt within three working days, and aim to resolve the matter as soon as possible but will give you some idea of how long that may take at the outset. You will then receive a formal reply in writing, or you may be invited to meet with the person(s) concerned to attempt to resolve the issue. If the matter is likely to take longer than this we will let you know, and keep you informed as the investigation progresses.
When looking into a complaint, we attempt to see what happened and why, to see if there is something we can learn from this, and make it possible for you to discuss the issue with those involved if you wish to do so.
When the investigations are complete, you will receive a final response. This will normally be in writing but can be verbal or face-to-face by mutual agreement.
Where your complaint involves more than one organisation (e.g. social services) we will liaise with that organisation so that you receive one coordinated reply. We may need your consent to do this. Where your complaint has been initially sent to an incorrect organisation, we may seek your consent to forward this to the correct person to deal with.
The final response letter will include details of the result of your complaint and also your right to refer the matter further to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman if you remain dissatisfied with the response.
The practice Complaints Manager is Alyson Gledhill.
Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else
Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality.
If you wish to make a complaint and are not the patient involved, we will require the written consent of the patient to confirm that they are unhappy with their treatment and that we can deal with someone else about it.
Please ask at reception for a third party consent form which the patient will need to sign to enable the complaint to proceed.
Where the patient is incapable of providing consent due to illness or accident it may still be possible to deal with the complaint. Please provide the precise details of the circumstances which prevent this in your covering letter.
Please note that we are unable to discuss any issue relating to someone else without their express permission, which must be in writing, unless the circumstances above apply.
We may still need to correspond direct with the patient, or may be able to deal direct with the third party, and this depends on the wording of the authority provided.
What You Can Do Next
We hope that, if you have a problem, you feel able to use our practice complaints procedure. We believe that this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and the opportunity to improve our practice.
If you are dissatisfied with the response to your complaint, you have the right to approach the Health Service Ombudsman. The contact details are:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk
You may also make your complaint directly to the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board, who commission our service. Details of how to do this can be found at the following website, under the ‘Local area feedback and complaints’ section: https://gmintegratedcare.org.uk/have-your-say/contact-us/
If you're making, or thinking about making, a complaint, someone from the independent NHS Complaints Advocacy Service can help you. Cloverleaf Advocacy provides this service in Oldham. The service is accessible to all Oldham residents and is completely free.
Cloverleaf can help you to raise a formal complaint about an NHS funded service. An advocate will also be able to attend meetings with you and review any information you're given during the complaints process. You can seek advice from an NHS complaints advocate at any stage of the process.