Complaints
The Practice takes all complaints very seriously indeed. If you wish to raise a concern or have a complaint to make about the service provided by this practice, please ask to either speak directly to the practice managers or alternatively, email us at wolccg.probertroadsurgery@nhs.net or write a letter addressed to the practice managers. The managers can also help to formulate a letter of complaint for patients if this is requested
A copy of the practice’s complants procedure is available upon request.
The Practice complies with the latest guidelines and is happy to support patients who are not satisfied with the response given by the practice if the patient or their representative chose to take the complaint further to either NHS England or the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
The Practice has to submit an annual report to NHS England outlining the complaints received, which is also required for CQC and contractual purposes, therefore transparency from the practice is always required.
There are three main ways to feedback about your experience of our GP Surgery and the service we provide.
Friends and Family Test
The NHS Friends and Family Test (FFT) was created to help understand whether patients are happy with the service provided, or where improvements are needed. It’s a quick and anonymous way to give your views after receiving NHS care or treatment.
We use the information captured via the Friends and Family Test to improve our service. It is anonymous, so if you would like to discuss your experience, it is better to contact us through our general feedback form.
Feedback and Compliments
We are continually looking to turn your feedback into real improvements in our services. We use it to focus on what matters most to our patients, their carers and their families.
If you want to share your experience or have a suggestion on how we can do things better to improve our patients’ experiences, please complete the below form. We’d also like to hear from you if you are pleased with the service you’ve received. We’ll let the staff involved know and share the good practice across our teams.
If you can’t complete the form or would find it easier to discuss your experience you can contact the practice via telephone, in-person or over email.
Complaint Procedure
If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this GP surgery, please let us know. This includes Primary Care Network staff working as part of our GP surgery. We operate a complaints procedure as part of an NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.
How to complain
We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly when they arise and with the person concerned. For example, by requesting a face-to-face meeting to discuss your concerns.
If your problem cannot be sorted out this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible. By making your complaint quickly, it is easier for us to establish what happened. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:
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 of the incident.
Complaints should be addressed to the GP surgery team verbally or in writing. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with the GP surgery to discuss your concerns. They will explain the complaints procedure to you and make sure your concerns are dealt with promptly. Please be as specific as possible about your complaint.
What we will do
We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days. We will aim to have investigated your complaint within ten working days of the date you raised it with us. We will then offer you an explanation or a meeting with the people involved, if you would like this. When we investigate your complaint, we will aim to:
– Find out what happened and what went wrong.
– Make it possible for you to discuss what happened with those concerned, if you would like this.
– Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate.
– Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
We take medical confidentiality seriously. Please note, if you wish to complain on behalf of someone else, the practice adheres strictly with GDPR, therefore, written consent from the patient will be required prior to commencing the complaints process. There are some exclusions from this, if the patient does not have mental capacity.
Complaining to NHS England
You have the right to make a complaint about any aspect of NHS care, treatment or service, this is written into the NHS Constitution on GOV.UK.
There are two ways you can make a complaint:
– You can complain to the healthcare provider: this is the organisation where you received the NHS service, for example a GP surgery or dental surgery.
– You can complain to the commissioner of the service: this is the organisation that paid for the service or care you received.
If you want to make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner you will now contact the Black Country Integrated Care Board instead of NHS England.
You can do this by:
Telephone: 0300 0120 281
Email: bcicb.time2talk@nhs.net
Writing to us at: Time2Talk, NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) Civic Centre, St Peter’s Square, Wolverhampton, WV1 1SH.
If you want to make a complaint directly to the provider of the primary care service, you still can.
If you have an ongoing complaint placed on or after 1 July 2022, you will receive a letter from NHS England informing you that the Black Country ICB is now handling your complaint, this will include confirmation of your case handler.
If you have an ongoing complaint placed before 1 July 2022, you will receive a letter from NHS England informing you that your complaint is being retained by NHS England, this will include confirmation of your case handler.
Unhappy with the outcome of your complaint?
If you are not happy with the way your complaint has been dealt with by the GP surgery and NHS England and would like to take the matter further, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). The PHSO makes final decisions on unresolved complaints about the NHS in England. It is an independent service which is free for everyone to use.
To take your complaint to the Ombudsman, visit the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website or call 0345 015 4033.
Further information on complaining can be found here.
Complaints & NHS Black Country Integrated Care Trust
NHS Black Country Integrated Care Trust (ICB) is responsible for buying (commissioning) health services for people living in Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
We commission services from local hospitals, GP practices and other healthcare providers. We welcome compliments, concerns and complaints, as this information can help us, not only to learn from patients’ experiences, but to make improvements to the services we commission.
You can contact us which provides/provided the service to you, or the ICB. If your complaint relates to the service you received with us your GP practice, you need to contact NHS England. Their details, along with other services, can be found further down this page. We have a responsibility to ensure your complaint is investigated thoroughly, where the person affected by the issue is a patient at your GP practices in the Black Country.
If you send your concern to us by mistake, don’t worry, we will get your permission and send it on to the right organisation. Your complaint should be made as soon as possible. We can only look at complaints within 12 months of them happening. You can make a complaint about something that has happened to you, or someone else, if you have their permission.
What information will be needed to make my complaint?
*Your name, address, telephone number and an email address (if available), and the same details if you are complaining on behalf of someone else.
*The date of birth and NHS number (if known), for the person the complaint relates to.
*Tell us what happened and when.
*Where did this happen?
*A list of things that you are complaining about.
* What changes are needed to improve experiences in the future.
When we receive a complaint we will:
*Contact you within three working days.
*Get permission to access the information relating to the complaint.
*Finalise the details and agree a time to respond to you.
Contact details for other NHS organisations
NHS England commissions:
*Prison health services
* Some specialised services
You can contact the service directly:
NHS England at england.contactus@nhs.net
0300 311 2233
The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust:
Formal complaints – dgft.complaints@nhs.net
Informal complaints – dgft.pals@nhs.net or 01384321035
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust:
rwh-tr.pals@nhs.net
01902 695368
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust:
patientrelations@walsallhealthcare.nhs.uk
01922 656463
Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust:
swbh.complaints@nhs.net
swb-tr.pals@nhs.net
0121 507 6440/4080/5892
Black Country Healthcare NHS Trust:
sed.bchft@nhs.net
0800 587 7720