We welcome feedback about your experiences, as it lets the practice know what we are doing well and where we could improve.
Talk to us.
The Practice is committed to providing high-quality, person-centred care and treatment that’s both safe and effective. However, we understand that there are times when things go wrong. If something goes wrong, or you’re dissatisfied with what we have or haven’t done, tell us and we’ll do our best to put things right. If we can’t resolve matters in the way you want, we’ll explain why it’s not possible to do as you suggest.
Understandably, you might be upset or distressed when formally raising concerns about you or your loved one’s care. As a result of this, our practice team will treat you with respect and dignity throughout this emotional time. It’s expected you show the same courtesy to them.
We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and allow us to improve our services.
Who to talk to
You can speak to any member of staff initially about your concerns. This allows us to work with you to resolve any concern you may have without going through a formal process. Most complaints are best resolved within the practice, and formal complaints should be made via our Practice Manager or Assistant Practice Manager.
Your formal complaint can be sent to our surgery email address on [email protected] or dropped in to our main Reception desk or posted the surgery address; The Boulevard Medical Practice, Savile Park Road, Halifax, HX1 2ES.
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 12 months of the incident that caused the problem; or
- Within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the incident.
What we will do
We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days. We will then begin a thorough investigation of the complaint raised and you will receive a full written response. When we investigate your complaint, we will aim to:
- Find out what happened and what went wrong.
- 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. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we must know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.
If you feel unable to raise your complaint with us directly or if you believe this is not appropriate, you can raise your complaint with the ICB who commission and pay for the NHS services you use by:
Email: at [email protected]
Telephone: 01924 552150 Monday to Friday 9-4:30 pm, excluding bank holidays.
Please note that the team receives a high number of telephone calls daily and may not be able to respond instantly to each one.
In writing: Patient Advice and Liaison Service, West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, White Rose House West Parade, Wakefield WF1 1LT
Please note: The ICB is unable to consider or reconsider the same concerns or complaints you have raised with us.
Citizens Advice Bureau also provides information and advice about making complaints.
Take it Further.
If you remain unhappy after receiving our final reply, you can ask the Health Service Ombudsman to review your complaint independently.
The Ombudsman is independent of the NHS and free to use. It can help resolve your complaint and tell the NHS how to put things right if it has got them wrong.
The Ombudsman only has legal powers to investigate certain complaints. You must have received a final response from the Practice before the Ombudsman can look at your complaint. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, it will generally not investigate your complaint if it happened more than 12 months ago.
Address:
Manchester
All post should be sent to their main office in Manchester:
Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman
Citygate
Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HQ
Phone: 0345 015 4033
Their lines are open: Monday to Thursday 8.30 am to 5.00 pm | Friday 8.30 am to 12 pm.
Before considering taking this step, we hope you would let us know what aspect of the complaint has not been dealt with satisfactorily and provide an opportunity for us to consider whether there is anything further that could be done locally to resolve matters.
For more information, we are happy to provide our Complaint’s Policy.