The Barnes Doctors is committed to providing high quality care and treatment for our patients through the delivery of safe, effective person-centred care.
However, we recognise that things go wrong sometimes. When this happens, we want to respond to as quickly as possible where we can to try and put things right as soon as we can.
We aim to address any concerns or complaints promptly, courteously, and efficiently.
We welcome all feedback and comments about our services.
We value complaints for the feedback they provide, so when we receive any criticism, or praise we listen very carefully.
We consider and review all the concerns you raise, and we use that information to improve our care and service.
Complaints Procedure
If you wish to complain about our service or care, we encourage you to do so.
If you are unhappy with our care and service, please inform us so we can do our best to resolve any concerns you have as quickly as we can. We will then investigate the situation as soon as possible, explain and apologise and take any actions necessary.
We regard a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of care and, or service we provide.
You can complain directly to us, or if you prefer someone can make the complaint on your behalf. This representative could be a relative, friend, carer, or any person you choose.
If you do wish for someone to make a complaint on your behalf, it is important you understand that we will request your permission to enable us to communicate with the person you wish to represent you in order to address your complaint.
You can complain about things like:
• your care and/or treatment;
• delays;
• a failure to provide a service;
• an inadequate standard of service;
• a lack of information and clarity about appointments;
• difficulty in making contact with us for appointments or queries;
• treatment by or attitude of a member of our staff;
• scheduled or unscheduled ambulance care;
• our failure to follow the appropriate process;
• your dissatisfaction with our policy.
The above list is not exhaustive but consists of the reasons for types of complaints that can be raised.
There are also things you cannot complain about such as:
- A request for a service we do not provide
- A request for a second opinion in respect of care or treatment
- A previously concluded complaint, or a request to reconsider a complaint where we have given our final decision
- A complaint that is being seen or has been previously investigated by The UK Public Service Ombudsman (SPSO)
- A complaint arising from a suggest failure to comply with a request for information under The Freedom of Information Act (FOI).
Again, this list is not exhaustive, if we believe other procedures can help you we will give you advice to help you.
How to Make a Complaint
You can make your complaint in person, by phone, by emailing or in writing.
When making a complaint please provide the following information:
- Your full name and address
- Your phone number, if you are happy to provide this so we can call you to discuss your complaint
- Your email address (if this is your preferred method of contact)
- If complaining on behalf of the person affected, we need the full name, address and date of birth of that person
Please provide as much detail as possible about the complaint such as:
- What has gone wrong
- When did this happen
- Where did this happen
- How you want us to resolve the matter.
This information will help us identify the problem and help us decide what action we need to do to resolve matters.
Normally you must make your complaint within six months of:
- The event you want to complain about, or
- Finding out you have reason to complain, but no longer than 12 months after the event you are complaining about.
In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a complaint after the time limit.
If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why.
If we decide that, because of the time that has passed since the incident occurred, we cannot consider your complaint, you can ask The Department of Health or The UK Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to review our decision.
How We Respond to a Complaint
The person who is managing your complaint is: Dr. Amun Kalia- Medical Director and Founder
The practice Feedback and Complaints Officer: Dr. Amun Kalia- Medical Director and Founder
E: contact@barnesdoctors.co.uk
T: 020 4641 0000
We operate two-stage complaints procedure
We will endeavour to try and manage your complaint quickly, but if the matter you have raised requires detailed investigation, we will let you know and keep you updated on our progress.
STAGE ONE: EARLY LOCAL RESOLUTION
We will do our upmost to address your complaint quickly, if appropriate and possible this might be an on-the spot apology and explanation if something has clearly gone wrong, and immediate action is taken to resolve the problem.
If enquiries need to be made to establish what has gone wrong, we will try to resolve and address your concerns within 5 working days unless there are exceptional circumstances.
We may also look at some complaints immediately at Stage 2 if we feel the matter is complex and requires an investigation to fully understand the raised concerns.
If we cannot resolve your complaint at stage 1, we will explain why and advise you of what you can do next, we may suggest escalation to Stage Two.
If you are you are dissatisfied with our initial response, you can ask us to consider your complaint at Stage Two.
STAGE TWO: INVESTIGATION
Stage Two deals with two types of complaint:
- those that have not been resolved at Stage One, and
- those that are complex and require detailed investigation.
When using Stage Two we will:
- Acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days
- Where appropriate, discuss your complaint with you to understand why you remain dissatisfied and what outcome you are looking for.
- Give you a full response to the complaint as soon as possible and within 20 working days.
If our investigation will take longer than 20 working days, we will tell you why. We will agree revised time limits with you and keep you updated.