If you have any complaints or concerns about the service that you have received from a doctor or member of staff working for the practice, you are entitled to ask for an explanation. We operate an in-house complaints procedure to deal with your complaints. This procedure does not deal with matters of legal liability or compensation. In some cases, the in-house procedure is not an appropriate form of investigation, in which case you will be referred to the appropriate authority.
Download an easy to read document on how we deal with concerns and complaints (DOCX, 29KB).
If you would like to raise a concern or complaint, please contact us on complaints.stlukes@nhs.net
We will ensure that it is investigated thoroughly and as speedily as possible. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days and we will agree an action plan with you covering:
- how long it will take to complete the investigation
- who will investigate
- how and what will be investigated
- what went wrong
- when we will respond by
Please note that the practice must ensure strict adherence to the rule of medical confidentiality. We cannot provide confidential information without appropriate authority if you are not the patient in question.
We can help you write down your complaint if you feel you need help to do so.
Under normal circumstances complaints must be received within 12 months of the incident occurring. At the conclusion of the investigation of your complaint you will receive a written response reporting our findings.
If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the practice investigation, please either contact the Practice Manager or the commissioner of the service. This used to be NHS England however from the 1st July 2023 if you want to make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner you must now contact Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) instead of NHS England.
You can do this by:-
If you want to make a complaint directly to the provider of the primary care service, you still can – that does NOT change on the 1st July 2023.
Members of the public with ongoing complaints received on/after 1st July 2022 will receive a letter from NHS England informing them that the ICB is now handling their complaint with confirmation of their case handler.
Members of the public with any ongoing complaints received before 1st July 2022 will receive a letter from NHS England informing them that their complaint is being retained by NHS England with confirmation of their case handler.
If you have any queries, please contact northantsicb.patientexperience@nhs.net
If, after this, you are still dissatisfied with the response to your complaint, you have the right to contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman:-
- Visit their website www.ombudsman.org.uk/making-complaint and either use their online complaint form or download a copy for completion.
- Call their Customer Helpline on 0345 015 4033 which is open Monday to Thursday from 8.30am to 5.00pm and Friday from 8.30am to 12pm, except bank holidays. Calls are charged at local or national rates.
The practice is always looking to develop and improve its systems and procedures and your comments are always welcome. In a time of so much change it is vitally important to constantly re-assess our procedures.