Complaints and Compliments

Your input to the running of the Westgate Practice is invaluable and your comments, good or bad, are therefore most welcome. We use this Practice Complaints Procedure to deal with your concerns and complaints about the service we provide.  We also have a mechanism to deal with compliments, suggestions or minor concerns.  Our aim is to give you the highest possible standard of service and we try to deal swiftly with any problems that may occur.

How to make a complaint

If you are concerned about any aspect of our services, be it in relation to a doctor, nurse or other member of our team, please let us know. You can do so online by completing our Feedback form.

We view this as a way for us to monitor and improve the quality of service that this practice provides. We operate the practice complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints and our system meets all national criteria.

Talk to a member of our team who will try to sort out your concern on the spot.

If you do not feel able to do this you can complain in writing. Please contact us as soon as possible as this will enable us to investigate what happened more fully. If you have any specific information such as dates, times and names this also helps in our investigation.

Who to complain to

Please make your complaint in writing to the Patient Liaison Officer, who will be happy to investigate your concerns.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please be aware that we cannot breach the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else we shall require their consent to inform you of the outcome of our investigations.

Our Complaints Process

We shall acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days either by telephone or in writing. We shall make every attempt to investigate and respond to that complaint within 10 working days. However, if the issues are complex or staff members are on leave this may take a little longer.

The purpose of the NHS Complaints procedure is to:

• Find out what happened and what went wrong
• Provide an apology where this is appropriate
• Identify ways in which similar problems can be prevented

If you are dissatisfied with our response you may wish to escalate it further to: Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) on 0345 015 4033 or visiting ombudsman.org.uk. Milbank Tower, Milbank, London, SW1P 4QP or City Gate, Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3HQ.

Advice and support

If you would like to speak to someone for advice or help with making a complaint or if you find it difficult to make a complaint yourself(including help with writing your letter), you can contact Total Voice Staffordshire.

Telephone: 0300 303 1660

Email: helpline@voiceability.org

Compliments and suggestions

It is always appreciated when compliments are received and, as with complaints, we use this as a way of learning for the future. When we receive a compliment we share this with the team and encourage individuals to work to the high standards that your compliment has acknowledged. Please forward any compliments for the attention of our Patient Liaison Officer.

Equally your suggestions can help us change our processes and we often make minor changes to our administration systems following patient input. Please forward any suggestions to our Patient Liaison Officer.