We’re very proud of the service we provide in each of our surgeries, and we work hard to offer safe, effective, healthcare that meets you and your family’s needs. However, we realise that sometimes things can go wrong.
If you are unhappy with any aspect of the care or service you have received at any of our surgeries, please let us know.
Who can file a Formal Complaint?
Anyone can make a Formal Complaint about their own care, if they feel that they have not received the level of service expected.
If you wish to complain on behalf of someone else, we will need to ensure that you have their consent to do so. Please see the ‘Complaining on behalf of someone else’ section below for more information.
Timescales for filing a Formal Complaint
We encourage you to raise your complaint as soon as possible after the event, as this helps us to investigate more effectively.
Complaints should normally be made within 12 months of the incident, or within 12 months of becoming aware of the issue.
What happens after we receive a Formal Complaint?
We aim to resolve complaints as quickly as possible.
-
- We will always acknowledge your complaint within 72 working hours of receiving it.
- All feedback/Complaints are reviewed by our Patient Experience Manager.
- Depending on the nature of your concern, we may feel that an investigation into the matter is required.
- Where appropriate, we may contact you to discuss your concerns in more detail
Investigations are conducted by the Patient Experience Manager, supported by our Governance Team (which includes both clinical and non-clinical staff).
We aim to provide a full written response withing 28days of acknowledging your complaint.
If your concern can be resolved quickly and does not require a formal investigation, we may provide a response withing 72 working hours, either verbally or in writing.
We use all feedback provided to help us review our services and make improvements where needed.
What to do if you are unhappy with our final response
If you are not satisfied with our final response, you have the right to refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Further details can be found in the section ‘Making a Complaint About Us to Someone Else’, below.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
We adhere strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are making a complaint on behalf of someone else, we must ensure that you have their permission to do so. In most cases, we will need to contact the patient directly to obtain their consent before we are able to respond to your complaint.
There are some exceptions to this requirement. For example, this may not be necessary if:
-
- you hold a valid Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for Health and Welfare that is in effect, or
- the patient lacks capacity and you are authorised to act on their behalf.
In these situations, we may ask you to provide appropriate documentation before we proceed.
How to file a Formal Complaint
Please send your written complaint to:
Patient Experience Manager
Middlewood Partnership
The Waterhouse
Wellington Road
Bollington
Cheshire
SK10 5JH
Email: cmicb-cheshire.middlewood.publicliaison@nhs.net
Making A Complaint About Us To Someone Else
We’d always rather hear from you direct but we realise that sometimes you might find it easier to talk to someone else about your concerns.
If this is the case you can contact:
NHS Cheshire And Merseyside ICB Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALs)
PALs can help you in many ways. It can:
-
- help you with queries about healthcare services
- help you have a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of healthcare services
- listen to your concerns about NHS services and provide impartial advice and assistance to try and resolve a problem
- help you resolve an issue more informally and often more urgently than if you were to make a formal complaint
- identify when your experience could help with service improvement
- signpost you to other services and organisations that may be able to help you
Website: https://www.cheshireandmerseyside.nhs.uk/contact/complaints/
HealthWatch
Healthwatch Cheshire East, part of Healthwatch Cheshire, is an independent voice for the people of Cheshire East to help shape and improve local health and care services.
They want to hear about your views, needs and experiences to help Cheshire East get the best possible health and care.
You can contact Healthwatch by clicking here.
NHS England
You can contact NHS England using the following contact details:
NHS England
PO Box 16738
Redditch
B97 9PT
Telephone: 0300 311 2233
Website: https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/feedback-and-complaints/complaint/
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
If you feel that you need to take the matter further, you can get in touch with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman:
Telephone: 0345 015 0433
Website: https://www.ombudsman.org.uk.