Complaints

St Thomas Medical Group

Complaints Procedure

 

We always try to give you the best service possible, but there may be times when you feel this has not happened. This leaflet explains what to do if you have a complaint about the services we provide. We hope you will use it to allow us to investigate and, if necessary, put right any problems you have identified or mistakes that have been made.

How to let us know about a complaint and how we deal with it:

If you wish to make a complaint, please write to our Complaints Team who are based across the medical group. The team will take full details of your complaint and decide how best to undertake the investigation.

Email: stthomas@nhs.net Tel: 01392 676676 Address: St Thomas Health Centre, Cowick Street, Exeter, EX1 1HJ

All complaints, comments and suggestions will be treated in strict confidence. No patient or relative’s healthcare will be adversely affected as the result of making a complaint.

We think it is important to deal with complaints quickly, so you will normally receive an initial acknowledgement within a few days with an expected response time for your complaint.

We will try to address your concerns fully, provide you with an explanation, and discuss any action that may be needed. If we think the timescale is likely to change from that specified on your acknowledgment, we will let you know.

You may be offered the opportunity to meet with a member of the complaints team or another member of staff from the Practice to discuss your complaint. You may bring a friend or relative with you to the meeting and we hope that at the end of the meeting you will feel satisfied that we have dealt with the matter thoroughly.

Please note that if you should want to raise a complaint or concern on behalf of another patient, then to respect our duty of confidentiality to our patients, it will be necessary to have that person’s written consent.

Please note that our Practice Complaints Procedure is not able to deal with questions of legal liability or compensation, for which you should seek legal advice.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the practice. If you do not wish to deal with the Practice directly, or if you remain dissatisfied about how your complaint has been handled, you are entitled to put your complaint to NHS Devon.

Email: d-icb.patientexperience@nhs.net Tel: 0300 123 1672 Address: Patient Advice and Complaints Team, Pomona House, Edginswell Business Park, Oak View Close, Torquay, TQ2 7FF

NHS Devon will support patients and their representative with any concerns or complaints regarding primary care services in Devon, however, unless directly concerning the commissioning of the service will recommend any complaints are handled with the provider directly.

If you are unhappy with how the NHS has dealt with your complaint, you can contact the Health Service Ombudsman. www.ombudsman.org.uk