Complaints Procedure

Any complaints or concerns you have about Norton Medical Centre are taken seriously and we will make every effort address these for you. Below is our Practice Complaints Procedure for you to follow and help us resolve any issues.

You can print our Complaints Procedure as a .pdf document here or collect a copy from the Surgery.

Practice Complaints Procedure

We always welcome the opportunity to deal with any part of our service which is causing you concern.

We operate a practice complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints and our system meets national criteria.

We will do our best to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

HOW TO COMPLAIN

Many problems can be sorted out quickly and easily as they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be resolved in this way and you wish to make a complaint, you should let us know as soon as possible as this will enable us to establish what happened more easily.

Ideally you should let us know of your complaint within a matter of days, or at most a few weeks, of the incident. If this is not possible, then you should let us have details:

Within twelve months of the incident that caused the problem, or within twelve months of discovering that you have a problem, or

Within twelve months of discovering that you have a problem.

Written complaints should be addressed to Mrs Leigh Malloy, the Practice Manager, or to your doctor if you prefer. Alternatively, you can relay a verbal complaint to the Reception Manager who will make notes of your concerns to pass on for investigation.

If requested, we can facilitate telephone or face to face meetings after the investigation has taken place to discuss the outcome. We will aim to arrange this as soon as reasonably possible and with the most appropriate person; please note if you wish to meet with a GP or the Practice Manager specifically there may be at least a 4+ week wait for availability. Alternatively, we have various Interdepartmental Teams lead by skilled Managers, such as our Reception Manager, Medicines Manager, and many more who may be able to help you sooner.

Please address written complaints to:

Leigh Malloy
Practice Manager
Norton Medical Centre
Billingham Road
Stockton-on-Tees
TS20 2UZ

WHAT WE SHALL DO

We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days, and then fully investigate and provide a full response within a reasonable timeframe (usually four to six weeks). We will:

Establish what happened and what went wrong.

Identify how we can ensure the problem doesn’t happen again.

Be in a position to offer you an explanation, or a meeting with the people concerned.

Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate.

COMPLAINING ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE

We must keep strict rules of confidentiality. If you wish to complain on behalf of someone else, we need to know you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed. If you are complaining on behalf of someone who does not have capacity to provide consent, we will require evidence of a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health document in place.

TAKING YOUR COMPLAINT FURTHER

If you have a problem, we hope you will use our Practice Complaints Procedure as this will give us the best chance of correcting whatever has gone wrong and give us an opportunity to improve our practice.

You may feel you need help and advice to make your complaint and there are people who can help you. You can contact Healthwatch Stockton on Tees to find out about independent NHS complaints advocacy services in the area.

If you want to complain about the care you have received by the practice, but do not wish to follow the local complaints procedure, then you can contact NHS England Customer Contact Centre.

Having gone through the above procedures, if you are still not satisfied but do not wish to take the matter further within the practice, then you have the right to request an independent review of your complaint from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) within 12 months of the date of the final response letter.

CONTACT DETAILS:-

Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS)
Evans Business Incubation Centre
Durham Way South
Newton Aycliffe
DL5 6XP
Freephone: 0808 802 3000
Email: aycliffeicas@carersfederation.co.uk

Healthwatch Stockton on Tees
Catalyst House
27 Yarm Road
Stockton on Tees
TS18 3NJ
For general enquiries Tel: 01642 688312
For information and advice Tel: 0808 1729559
Email: healthwatchstocktonontees@pcp.uk.net
Website: www.healthwatchstocktonontees.co.uk

NHS England Customer Contact Centre
PO Box 16728
Redditch
B97 9PT
Tel: 0300 311 22 33 (open 8.00am – 6.00pm)
Email: nhscommissioningboard@hscic.gov.uk

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 015 4033