If you have any complaint or concern about the service that you have received from the doctors or staff working at either Miriam Medical Centre, or Earlston & Seabank/Field Road Medical Centre you are entitled to ask for an explanation.
The practices operate an informal, in-house complaints procedure to deal with your complaints. This procedure does not deal with matters of legal liability or compensation. In some cases the in-house procedure is not an appropriate form of investigation, in which case you will be referred to the appropriate authority.
This procedure does not affect your right to make a formal complaint to the health authority if you so wish. Nor does it affect your right to seek compensation in law. The goals of the in-house complaints procedure are:
- A clear explanation
- An apology where appropriate
- Reassurance that steps will be taken to prevent the same thing happening again
Care must be taken to ensure patient confidentiality at all times. If you have any complaint or concern about the service that you have received from the doctors or staff working at either Miriam Medical Centre, Earlston & Seabank Medical Centre or Field Road Health Centre, please let the practice know. A practice complaints procedure is available as part of the NHS complaints system for dealing with complaints. This procedure meets the national criteria.
How to complain
Hopefully 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, please let the practice know (as soon as possible) – ideally within a matter of days or at most a few weeks – this way it is easier to establish what happened. If it is not possible to do that, please provide details of your complaint:
- Within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem or
- Within 6 months of the date of discovering that you have a problem, providing that it is within 12 months of the incident
The practice manager will be pleased to deal with any complaint and will explain the procedure to you and make sure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. You can make your complaint:
In person – ask to speak to Mrs Sandra Davies at Miriam or Mrs Su Stephens, Practice Manager at Earlston & Seabank/Field Road.
In writing – please give as much information as you can, then send your complaint to the practice for the attention of Mrs Sandra Davies (Miriam) or Mrs Su Stephens (Earlston & Seabank /Field Road) as soon as possible.
What the practice will do
Acknowledge your complaint within two working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within ten working days of the date you raised it. The practice will then be in a position to offer an explanation or a meeting with the people involved. After looking into your complaint, the aim is to:
- Find out what happened and what went wrong
- Make it possible 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 can be done to make sure the problem does not happen again
At the end of the investigation your complaint will be discussed with you in detail either in person or in writing.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
The practice and staff adhere to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, the practice have to know that you have permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness) of signing this.
Complaining
Please use the practice complaints procedure. It is believed this will give Miriam Primary Care Group the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve the practice. However, this does not affect your right to approach the Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group if you feel that you cannot raise your complaint with us or you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation. You should contact the Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group complaints manager for further advice (Tel: 0151 651 0011) or the Patient Advice and Liaison Services on 0151 363 3948 or (Freephone) 0800 0542137.
If you remain dissatisfied with the responses to your complaint, you have the right to ask the Parliamentary and Healthcare Commission to review your case. The Healthcare Commission is an independent body established to promote improvements in healthcare through the assessment of the performance of those who provide service. You can contact them on 0845 601 3012 or write to them at:
The Parliamentary and Healthcare Commission (Complaints Team)
Peter House
Oxford Street
Manchester M1 5AN
You can also contact the Care Quality Commission.
How to Provide Feedback or Register a Complaint Regarding Services
Sometimes services may not meet your expectations and you may be unhappy with the treatment or service you have received from the NHS. You are entitled to raise a concern, comment or make a complaint, have it considered and receive a response from the responsible body concerned. Equally, you may have had a positive experience and wish to share it with us.
The local PALS team (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) is able to provide support and advice if you have a concern or query regarding a local service you’ve received on the NHS (whether it’s an NHS or an independent provider). They can also act as your advocate when making a complaint or contacting an organisation. You can contact them:
In writing:
PALS
The Shopmobility Centre
5 St. John’s Street
Birkenhead
Wirral
CH41 6HY
By telephone: Tel: 0151 363 3948 or (Freephone) 0800 0542137
By email: [email protected]
