The Surgery is always looking for ways to improve the services offered to patients. To do this effectively, the practice needs to know what you think about the services you receive.

Tell us what we do best, where we don’t meet your expectations plus any ideas and suggestions you may have. Only by listening to you can the practice continue to build and improve upon the service it offers.

Compliments

If you feel one of our team members has provided you with exceptional service or you feel they have ‘gone the extra mile’ please feel free to feedback your experience.

The team at Derwent Medical Centre work exceptionally hard trying to manage patient care and expectations and appreciate feedback when we have exceeded your expectations.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about the service you have received from any member of the team in the first instance please discuss your complaint with the staff member concerned. Where the issue cannot be resolved at this stage, please contact a more a senior member of the team who will try to resolve the issue and offer you further advice on the complaints procedure.

If your problem cannot be resolved and you wish to make a formal complaints please let us know in writing as soon as possible. This will enable the practice to get a clear picture of the circumstances surrounding the complaint. If it is not possible to raise your complaint immediately, please let us have details of your complaint within the following timescales:

• Within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem OR
• Within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months

The practice operates a Complaints Procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.

If you make a complaint, it is practice policy to ensure you are not discriminated against, or subjected to any negative effect on your care, treatment or support.

Our Obligation to you

The practice will acknowledge your complaint within three working days and will aim to have investigated your complaint within ten working days of the date you raised it with us.

This time period could be extended if the complaint is deemed to be clinical. When the practice looks into your complaint it aims to:

• Ascertain the full circumstances of the complaint
• Identify what the practice can do to make sure the problem does not happen again
• Make sure you receive a written response from the Surgery unless the issue is resolved over the phone

Complaining on behalf of someone else

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

A form signed by the person concerned will be required, unless they are incapable of providing this due to illness or disability. We may write to the patient to obtain their authorisation before we can enter into dialogue with you.

The practice team will endeavour to resolve all complaints at the surgery however if you feel we have not resolved your complaint or do not want to complain to the practice directly you can contact:

ICB PALS Team

The ICB PALS Team can be contacted on 0800 032 32 35 or via email ddicb.pals@nhs.net

If you require support because English is not your first language, please contact us and we will signpost you to the relevant interpretation service.

Patient advocacy

There is a service that supports people who want to make a complaint about their NHS Care or treatment. Your local service is provided by POhWER: www.pohwer.net

POhWER
PO Box 14043
Birmingham
B6 9BL

Telephone: 0300 200 0084 – Mon to Fri 8am to 6pm

NHS Ombudsman

If you are still not happy with the resolution of your complaint you can contact the Ombudsman once you have either tried to resolve it locally or via NHS England.

www.ombudsman.org.uk

The Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman
11^th Floor
Millbank Tower
London
SW1P 4QP

Telephone: 0345 015 4033

Care Quality Commission

If you have a genuine concern about a staff member or regulated activity carried on by this practice then you can contact the Care Quality Commission on 03000 616161, or alternatively visit the following website: www.cqc.org.uk

If you have a compliment or complaint about treatment at one of our Hospitals please contact the patient advice and liaison services (PALS) for that relevant Hospital.

Royal Derby Hospital – 0800 783 7691
Florence Nightingale Community Hospital – 01332 785156
Nottingham University Hospital – 0800 183 0204