Complaints

If you have a complaint, suggestion or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us know. We operate a complaints procedure as part of a NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.

How to complain
We hope that 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, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible – ideally, within a matter of days or at the most a few weeks – because this will enable us to establish what happened more easily.

If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint, within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the incident.

Complaints should be addressed to the Practice Manager or any of the doctors. Alternatively you may ask for an appointment with the Practice Manager in order to discuss your concern. She will explain the complaints procedure to you and will make sure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. It will be a great help if you are as specific as possible about your complaint.

What shall we do
We shall acknowledge your complaint within two working days and aim to have looked into your complaint within ten working days of the date when you raised it with us. We shall then be in a position to offer you an explanation, or a meeting with the people involved.

When we look into your complaint, we aim 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 we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.

The in-house procedure does not effect your right to make a formal complaint to the Bournemouth & Poole Primary Care Trust if you wish, nor does it effect your right to seek compensation in law.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness) or providing this.

Patient Advice Liaison Services (PALS)
The Patient Advice Liaison Service is available to give advice to any patient with a problem or query about any aspect of their treatment or care.

The advice provided by the PALS is free and confidential. It will seek to resolve or clarify any concerns that you may have or suggest other services that maybe better placed to do this. If you wish to use this service please ask at the Reception desk. Alternatively you can telephone 01202 443747.