Practice Complaints Procedure

Patient feedback is important to us as it helps us to improve the service we provide to patients. We take patient complaints seriously and will attempt to address your concerns to your satisfaction.

How do I make a complaint?

If you wish to complain please contact the Assistant Practice Manager, Tracey Watson, either in person, by phone or in writing:

Tel: 01777 702381

Address: Kingfisher Family Practice, Retford Primary Care Centre, North Road, Retford, Nottinghamshire, DN22 7XF

Online Form

If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, the practice needs to know that you have their permission to do so.

What Happens Next?

The complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days. The practice will respond, after investigation, within the timeframe specified to you at the acknowledgement stage of the process. Some complaints may take longer to address but you will be informed of a response time. If this cannot be met, the practice will keep you informed.

Please be assured making a complaint will not adversely affect your ongoing healthcare at the practice. We will deal with you fairly, compassionately and will endeavour to resolve the situation to a satisfactory conclusion.

Wherever possible, we aim to learn from complaints and take action to avoid similar occurrences.

How do I complain to someone Independent?

GP Practices would prefer to have the opportunity to answer complaints ourselves in the first instance. However, you may pass your complaint directly to:

Patient Experience Team

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board

Sir John Robinson House

Sir John Robinson Way

Arnold

Nottingham

NG5 6DA

Tel: 0115 8839570

Email: [email protected]b

The practice is registered with the Data Protection Act and takes seriously its duty to protect confidential information. All practice staff are bound by a confidentiality clause and are trained in, and regularly reminded of, the arrangements for keeping patient information private. Your information is only available to those involved in your care.

In accordance with the Data Protection Act, and the Access to Medical Records Act, you are entitled to see your own clinical records. Notice must be given, and an appointment may be made, by telephoning the Practice Manager. An administration fee may be involved and any photocopies of records will incur a charge.

Any information that could be patient identifiable will NOT be disclosed in a response to a request made under the Freedom of Information Act.

Record Sharing – Information for Patients MIG (DOCX, 42KB)

Sharing Records (Poster) (DOC, 39KB)

Subject Access Requests for Medical Records

Patients may request copies of their medical records via a Subject Access Request as stated in Article 15 of GDPR. Requests must be made in writing to the practice. However, we also offer forms for these requests at reception.

We are required to respond to your requests within a months time and when making a request you are required to provide adequate information such as your full name, address and date of birth when making subject access requests and we ask that when you collect your records that you provide a form of ID.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the practice to produce a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the ‘classes’ of information the practice intends to routinely make available.

This scheme is available on request

Although a traditional part of general practice, home visits are time consuming. Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time it takes to make one home visit. So please help us to help you and our other patients by visiting the surgery whenever possible.

Home Visits are reserved for the following groups of patients:

• Terminally ill
• Housebound
• Patients who are severely ill in bed

Please request visits before 11am at the latest as this allows the triaging Doctor to assess the request for necessity and urgency so that it can be appropriately managed. In some situations the surgery may arrange assessment by another member of the community team (District Nurse/Neighbourhood Team)

The following ARE NOT valid reasons to perform a home visit:

Transport issues for the patient

• It is not the GP practice responsibility to arrange transport, or to perform home visits because the patient has difficulty arranging transport. In these circumstances patients should seek transport help from relatives, friends, or other providers (e.g. taxi firms)

Childcare issues for a patient

• If a patient has difficulty arranging for someone to care for their children whilst attending appointments, the patients are welcome to bring their children to the surgery

Poor mobility

• Whilst it is understood that having poor mobility is inconvenient and unpleasant, GP surgeries are designed to cater for patients with restricted mobility. If patients are able to attend appointments at other healthcare settings, then they should also be expected to attend appointments in GP surgeries

An unwell child

• It is in the best interest of the child to attend the surgery where they can be properly assessed and treated. The Clinician can make a more informed clinical judgment when seeing the child in surgery
• If a parent believes that the child is too unwell to travel to surgery, and is a medical emergency then it would be advisable for them to seek help from the emergency services by calling 999

Residents of care home

• Care home residents are no different to patients in their own homes. The need to visit should be based upon clinical need, not the availability of transport or staff to attend the surgery. It is the responsibility of care facilities to make transport available for residents so that they can get to medical and non-medical appointments. Routine visit requests for care homes can be requested however will be deferred until appropriate clinical resource is available

Requests from Carers

• Visit requests will not be accepted from Carers, instead a telephone appointment will be offered to the Carer with a GP to discuss the need for the visit. The GP can then make a clinical judgement as to whether or not the visit is necessary, otherwise the patient will be expected to attend the surgery

Please note that the Patient Choice Scheme will allow GP practices to register new patients who live outside the practice area, without any obligation to provide home visits or out of hours services when the patient is unable to attend their registered practice

This policy is based on the GMS contract, local LMC guidance, BMA guidance and medico-legal advice taken from gplaw.co.uk

South Yorkshire And Bassetlaw Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

Under the arrangements for governing General Practice in the NHS, this practice is part of NHS Bassetlaw CCG. NHS Bassetlaw CCG a member organisation consisting of 12 practices across Bassetlaw.

You may contact NHS Bassetlaw by writing to The Chief Operating Office, NHS Bassetlaw CCG, Retford Hospital, North Road, Retford DN22 7XF, or by telephoning 01777 274400.

Patient Advice And Liaison Service

The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) has been established to ensure that patients receive support and information when they need it. The service provides confidential support, information about NHS treatment and services, advice on how to resolve queries and information about voluntary agencies. Our PALS officer is Linda; she can be contacted during normal office hours.

Patients will be treated with respect and courtesy by all members of the practice and are expected to afford the same level of respect and courtesy to all members of the team. Please be aware that verbal or physical abuse will not be tolerate.