Independent Review (Second Stage) If you are unhappy with the response to your complaint, you can ask the Health Service Ombudsman to review your complaint. The Ombudsman are completely independent of the NHS and Government. You can contact the Ombudsman at: Address: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, HOW TO MAKE A COMPLAINT London, SW1P 4QP Telephone: 0345 015 4033 Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk A patient’s guide to the complaints procedure at Where can I get further advice and help? Leap Valley Surgery We hope that you will contact the practice in the first instance to give us an opportunity to resolve your concerns. However, we understand that sometimes you want to obtain further advice and help. At Leap Valley Surgery we do our best to offer the best possible treatment and care at all times. However, we Well Aware is a local independent complaints advocacy for recognise that occasionally things may go wrong and people wanting to complain about NHS Services. They can be misunderstandings may arise. If this happens, we like to find contacted via the freephone number: 0808 8085252. out what the problem is, solve it if possible, and use the information obtained to improve the way we work in the future. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects GP practices You can help us improve the quality of our services by making and other primary medical services in England to check that constructive comments and suggestions. they are meeting the national standards of quality and safety. If you feel we are not meeting these standards, you can inform If you are unhappy with the treatment or service you have the CQC at:: received from the surgery, you are entitled to make a

Address: Care Quality Commission, Citygate, complaint, giving you the chance to put across your view of Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4PA what went wrong. We will then consider what you have said, Telephone: 03000 616161 provide you with a response from either a manager or the Website: www.cqc.org.uk appropriate clinician, and where necessary offer an apology.

Please note the CQC cannot investigate individual complaints.

Version 14/1 Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical How should I complain? confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone The first stage of the NHS complaints procedure is called else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. ‘Local Resolution’. This means dealing with your complaint at a A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless local level, i.e. by speaking to us about what went wrong. they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this. Local resolution aims to resolve complaints quickly and as close to the source of the complaint as possible using the most What is the time limit for making a complaint? appropriate means. You, or your representative, should complain within 12 months of the event(s) concerned, or within 12 months of becoming A complaint can be made verbally or in writing to Sarah Cole, aware that you have something to complain about. Your Operations Manager. A written record will be kept of doctor does have discretion to waive this time limit if there are complaints made verbally. good reasons why you could not complain earlier.

You can also raise your concerns immediately by speaking to a Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) & NHS England member of staff (e.g. GP, nurse, receptionist etc). They may The South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group be able to resolve your concerns without the need to make a (CCG) has responsibility for commissioning hospital, mental formal complaint. health, community and GP out of hours services. People with complaints or concerns can contact their PALS team at:: You will receive a written or verbal acknowledgment to your complaint within 3 working days. We will agree a timescale Address: South Gloucestershire CCG, Suite 15. Corum 2, with you in which we will fully investigate the issues you have Corum Office Park, Crown Way, Warmley, Bristol. raised. Upon completion of our investigation, you will receive a BS30 8FJ written response to your complaint. Tel: 0117 947 4477 E-mail: [email protected] Who can complain? A complaint can be made by a patient or person affected or NHS England has responsibility for primary care in South likely to be affected by the actions or decisions of an NHS Gloucestershire; GP practices, dental practices, opticians and organisation or primary care practitioner (such as a GP or pharmacies. People with complaints or concerns about these dentist). services should contact the individual organisation in the first instance, or the NHS England Customer Contact Centre: In certain circumstances a complaint can be made by someone acting on behalf of the patient, or person. For instance if the Address: NHS England, PO Box 16728, Redditch. B97 9PT patient/person is a child, has died, is unable to make the Tel: 0300 311 22 33 complaint themselves because of physical or mental incapacity E-mail: [email protected] or has requested that someone act on their behalf, a representative can complain for the patient/person.