Complaints

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Complaints Leaflet

Easy Read Complaints Leaflet Clifton Medical Centre

Making a complaint about Provision of Care from Clifton Medical Centre

We hope that the need to raise formal complaint can be mitigated wherever possible. Clifton Medical Centres commitment to provide the highest levels of Care to our patients is fundamentally at the heart of all that we do.

Clifton Medical Centre responds to all patient concerns or complaints in line with NHS Complaints Guidance. Further information can be found regarding the NHS complaints guidance

Stages of a complaint

Stage one: local resolution

Complaints can be made to the organisation providing care (eg GP surgery) or directly to the commissioning body, which will consider if it can deal with the complaint or if it’s more appropriate for the provider to respond. In our experience, most complaints are resolved quickly and efficiently this way.

Complaints must be made to either a primary care provider or the commissioning body – it can’t be both.

Where patients wish to make a formal complaint direct to Clifton Medical Centre (the provider), they can do so by using a Complaints form available from reception, or by emailing the Surgery at clifton.medicalcentre@nhs.net

If you want to make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner you will now contact South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB).

You can do this by:

Telephone: 0333 041 0021

E-mail:  syicb-sheffield.icbcomplaints@nhs.net

Stage two: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)

We would hope that in all cases, satisfactory resolution can be met directly between ourselves and the complainant. However if a complainant is still dissatisfied with the response at stage one, they can refer it to the PHSO if they want to have it independently reviewed.

The usual time limit for a complaint to the PHSO is 12 months. For clinical cases, the PHSO will usually get a clinical adviser’s opinion as part of the investigation.

However if you are still not happy with the response provided, you can ask the independent Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to look at your complaint.

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London, SW1P 4QP
Phone: 0345 015 4033

Who can complain?

• Complainants should normally be current or former patients, or their nominated or elected representatives.
• Patients aged 16 or over whose mental capacity is unimpaired should normally complain themselves or authorise someone to bring a complaint on their behalf.
• Children under the age of 16 can also make their own complaint, if they’re able to do so.

Investigating a complaint doesn’t remove the need to respect a patient’s confidentiality. If someone other than the patient makes a complaint, we will need to make sure they have authority to do so and that we have the patient’s consent to respond to the complainant.

If a patient lacks capacity to make decisions about who they want involved with a complaint, their representative must be able to demonstrate sufficient interest in the patient’s welfare and be an appropriate person to act on their behalf. This could be a partner, relative or someone appointed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 with lasting power of attorney.

In certain circumstances, the responsible body might need to check that a representative is an appropriate person to make a complaint.

• For example, if the complaint involves a child, the responsible body must satisfy itself that there are reasonable grounds for the representative to complain, rather than the child concerned.
• If the patient is a child or a patient who lacks capacity, the responsible body must also be satisfied that the representative is acting in the patient’s best interests.
• If the responsible body is not satisfied that the representative is an appropriate person, it must not consider the complaint, giving the representative reasons for the decision in writing.

Time limits

A complaint must be made within 12 months, either from the date of the incident or from when the complainant first knew about it.

The regulations state that a responsible body should consider a complaint after this time limit if:

• the complainant has good reason for their complaint being delayed, and
• it’s still possible to investigate the complaint fairly and effectively, despite the delay.