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Complaint Procedure

 

The Doctors and staff at this practice are committed to providing high-quality healthcare and services to patients. If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the practice, please let us know.

We operate a complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. The practice complaints procedure meets national criteria.

Make a Complaint Online

Alternatively, you can send your complaint to our Practice Manager at:

The Gardens Surgery
The Gardens
London
SE22 9QU

We want you to let us know if you are unhappy or have a suggestion about how we can do things better. All complaints are treated in the strictest confidence. Making a complaint will not affect your treatment or care.

 

The Procedure

The Doctors and staff at this practice are committed to providing high-quality healthcare and services to patients. If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the practice, please let us know. We operate a complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. The practice complaints procedure meets national criteria.

 

How to complain?

It is best to tell a member of staff about any concerns or problems as soon as they arise and we will try and sort them out.

If you wish to make a complaint, please let us have details of your complaint as soon as possible so we can find out what happened. It helps if you can give us as full details as possible. 

You can ask for an appointment with Sapna Sharma (Practice Manager) in order to discuss your concerns. She will explain the complaints procedure to you and make sure your concerns are dealt with promptly.

You need to make your complaint within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem OR within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem relating to a specific incident.

 

What we will do?

We will contact you about your complaint within three working days and discuss with you the best way to investigate it, including the time scales for a reply. We will aim to offer you an explanation within that time frame, or a meeting with the people involved.

We will look into your complaint to:

  • Find out what happened and what went wrong
  • Invite you to discuss the problem with those involved, if you would like this
  • Apologise where this is appropriate
  • Identify what we can do to make sure that the problem does not happen again.
 

Making a complaint

You can send your complaint to our Practice Manager, please see our online complaint form. Alternatively, you can post your complaint to us:

The Gardens Surgery
The Gardens
London
SE22 9QU

NHS England

Patients who have a comment or complaint about a GP, dentist, pharmacy or optician, which cannot be resolved locally with the practice manager, can contact NHS England using the details below.

NHS England
PO Box 16738
Redditch 
B97 9PT

Telephone: 0300 311 22 33

Make a Complaint NHS England

If you have a comment or complaint about a hospital, mental health or community trust, you should contact the organisation concerned directly. 

Southwark CCG

If you have a comment or complaint about any other local health service you may contact NHS Southwark Clinical Commissioning Group at the South London Commissioning Support Unit.

VoiceAbility

For support in making a complaint about an NHS service, contact VoiceAbility which provides a free and independent service that can help you.

Telephone: 0300 330 5454

Ask for advice and support from VoiceAbility 

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

If you are not satisfied with the way the practice has dealt with your complaint, you can contact The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower,
Millbank,
London
SW1P 4QP

Telephone: 0845 015 4033

Make a complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Medical records are protected by the Data Protection Act 1998. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else we need to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed unless they are incapable (i.e. due to an illness) of providing this.

If you have a comment or complaint about a hospital, mental health or community trust, you should contact the organisation directly. If you have a comment or complaint about any other local health service you may contact NHS Southwark Clinical Commissioning Group at the South London Commissioning Support Unit or telephone 0800 456 1517.