Complaints Procedure

COMPLAINT RESOLUTION PROCEDURE

If you are unhappy with the facilities or services you have received from this practice or from the doctor looking after you we would like to know about it as soon as possible so we can investigate your concerns and explain, apologise and take positive action where necessary. In most circumstances, if you tell us about your concern quickly, we can resolve matters straightaway. To let us know about something with which you are unhappy please speak with Breda Balseiro (practice manager) in the first instance.

If you are not fully satisfied you can put your concerns in writing and use our formal Complaint Resolution Procedure which meets with the requirements set out by the Independent Doctors Federation (IDF) for its members and also the Independent Healthcare Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS).

The Complaint Resolution Procedure has three stages and reflects the principles of the ISCAS Code of Practice:

Stage 1 Local resolution within the individual practice

Stage 2 IDF Complaint Resolution Procedure to review the complaint

Stage 3 Independent Adjudication from ISCAS

Stage 1

To start the formal Complaint Resolution Procedure you should write to:

Dr Anthony Hughes
110 Harley Street
London W1G 7JG

You should state what has caused you to have concerns and make your points clear. Please document when the relevant events took place and what results you expect from your complaint.

The Practice will send you an acknowledgement of your letter within three working days of receipt of the complaint (unless the practice is able to provide you with a full response within five days).

A full response to your complaint will be made within twenty days of the receipt of the complaint. If the investigation is still in progress after twenty days a letter will be sent to you explaining the delay and a full response made within five days of reaching a conclusion. In any event a holding letter will be sent every twenty days where an investigation is continuing.

If you remain dissatisfied following the final response from the practice, then you can request a review of your complaint, known as Stage 2 by writing to:

IDF CEO
The Medical Society of London
Lettsom House
11 Chandos St
London W1G 9EB

Website: www.idf.uk.net

Stage 2

The IDF Complaint Resolution Procedure will consider your complaint and will undertake a review of the documentation, any correspondence and the handling of the complaint at Stage 1. The Chief executive Officer will write to you according to the IDF procedures and in any event within twenty days to either confirm the outcome at stage 1 or to offer an alternative resolution.

At this time the IDF will advise you of your right to take the matter further to Independent Adjudication known as ISCAS and stage 3 in these procedures.

Throughout the process all information, documents and records relevant to your complaint will be treated in the strictest confidence and no information will be divulged to any parties who are not involved in the IDF Complaint Resolution Procedure, unless required to do so by law.

Stage 3

This stage is only available to complainants who remain dissatisfied once Stage 1 and Stage 2 are exhausted.

A complainant should then request the Adjudication by writing to the Secretariat:

Independent Healthcare Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS)
Care of CEDR - Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution
International Dispute Resolution Centre
70 Fleet Street
London EC4Y 1EU

Tel: 020 7536 6091
Email: info@iscas.org.uk
Website: www.iscas.org.uk

This written request for adjudication must be made within 6 months of the final determination by the IDF at Stage 2. The complainant at Stage 3 should provide reasons to explain the dissatisfaction with the outcome of Stage 2. The ISCAS Secretariat will seek confirmation from the IDF that Stage 2 has been completed.

The ISCAS Secretariat will notify the IDF of a request for Stage 3 made directly within ten days. The Secretariat will then be the main contact for the complainant once Adjudication is started. A complainant accessing this service will be asked to consent to release of records from the practice and the IDF relevant to the complaint and a report will be made to the complainant, the practice and the IDF.

Additional information for patients about ISCAS can be found at
www.iscas.org.uk/patients-complaints-process

The Care Quality Commission

Some healthcare services are required to be registered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which regulates Health and Adult Social Care Services. The CQC does not investigate complaints but considers relevant information about practices providing regulated activities within the terms of the legislation. They can be contacted at:

CQC National Correspondence
Citygate
Gallowgate
Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4PA

Website: www.cqc.org.uk