The Westminister & Pimlico Health Centre

COMPLAINTS AND SUGGESTIONS

While we always try to provide you with the quickest and best treatment we can, we realise we are not perfect. There are areas of the surgery that can be improved and times when we may do things wrong. We want to hear from you about any aspect of the surgery that you find important or you feel does not satisfy your needs.

Formal Complaints

We hope that you will never need to complain about the service we have provided. However, we are realistic and know that it is almost impossible to prevent all causes of complaints. If you want to register a complaint, there are a number of ways this can be done:

• Filling in a Complaints Form in the Surgery. These are available from the reception staff at both our sites. If you require help in registering your complaint there will always be a member of the practice team who will be happy to assist you.
• Registering a Complaint Over the Phone. You can phone the surgery and register your grievance. The receptionist will record your complaint on a Telephone Complaint Form. This will then be sent with a SAE for you to verify, sign and return. Until we have your approval as to the wording of your complaint we will NOT start investigating your grievance.
• Using a Third Party. A third party can register a complaint on your behalf but they must have your written permission. They will then be your representative during the investigation of your grievance.
• Writing a Letter. If you wish, you can simply write to the practice about your grievance. This will be treated in the same way as any other complaint.

What Happens to Your Complaint?

On receiving your complaint it is immediately passed to the practice manager, Dixie Hodges, or if she is unavailable it will be passed to Dr Alastair Mitchell, who is the doctor responsible for the complaints procedure.

• You should receive acknowledgement of your complaint within five working days.
• We hope to provide you with a satisfactory resolution within 10 working days. If required this will be in writing.

NB: All complaints are justiciable under English law only.

If necessary, a meeting can be arranged with the member(s) of the practice team involved; we can also provide interpreters if we are given at least one day of notice (you may have to wait up to three days for some of the less common languages).

We promise complete confidentiality in dealing with all complaints.

Documentation relating to complaints is NOT kept in the patient's records but in a complaints file that is strictly confidential. We promise that no information will be passed to any source outside the practice without your prior written permission.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of the practice complaints procedure, feel unable to approach the practice directly or, if the matter is one of clinical misconduct, you may find it necessary to contact the Westminster Primary Care Trust complaints department. If you are still dissatisfied with the way your complaint has been handled you can contact ICAS or the P&HS Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is appointed by government and is the highest level of appeal. The contact details for these bodies are as follows:

Westminster Primary Care Trust, 15 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JD.  Tel: (020) 7150 8000.

The Independent Complaints Advisory Service (ICAS), 32-36 Loman Street, London SE1 0EH  Tel: 0300 456 2370

The Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman, 11th Floor, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW12 4QP.  Tel: (020) 7276 2035

Learning By Our Mistakes

Our aim is that no complaint will be made twice. We review all complaints once they have been resolved to work out ways to stop the same problem areas arising in future. We also regularly audit comments and suggestions to try to put possible problem areas right before they turn into complaints.