Complaints and feedback

How to make a compliment or complaint

Whether you are happy or unhappy with the care and treatment that you have received, please get in touch and let us know your views.

Receiving compliments and complaints is important to ensuring good quality local healthcare in our Practice – helping us to find out more about what we’re getting right and what we can improve.

We hope this will help you to make your feelings and experiences known to the appropriate people. Should you have a complaint we hope this page will give you more information about what to do, who to contact and what happens next.

Suggestions and Feedback Form

Only use this form for comments about the practice and suggestions as to how we can improve our service to you.

Medical matters and official complaints cannot be dealt with via this form.

Complaints Form

We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice. However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. 

To pursue a complaint please complete this form and the practice manager will deal with your concerns appropriately.

Please feel free to contact our one of our senior management team if you have concerns and wish to discuss it further.

Complaints

There are two ways a person can make a complaint.

They can complain to the healthcare provider. This is the organisation where they received the NHS service, for example a GP surgery or dental surgery.  

They can complain to the commissioner of the service. This is the organisation that paid for the service or care they received.

How to complain to the NHS

Complaints Leaflet

Leave feedback via NHS.UK

Your review must be about a specific experience and not a general view of the NHS or the service as a whole.

GP patient survey

The GP Patient Survey is an independent survey run by Ipsos on behalf of NHS England. The survey is sent out to over two million people across the UK. The results show how people feel about their GP practice.

NHS Friends and Family

View results here

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Formal Complaint Process


What we will do

We will contact you about your complaint within three working days and offer to discuss with you the best way to investigate it, including the time scales for a reply. We will aim to offer you an explanation within that time frame. Or a meeting with the people involved.

  • Find out what happened and what went wrong
  • Invite you to discuss the problem with those involved, if you would like this
  • Apologise where this is appropriate
  • Identify what we can do to make sure that the problem does not happen again.

In General

We aim to acknowledge any letter or Complaints Form within 3 working days of receiving it and to deal with the matter as promptly as possible – usually within 20-28 working days – dependent on the nature of the complaint.

Who can complain

  • Complainants may be current or former patients, or their nominated or elected representatives (who have been given consent to act on the patients behalf).
  • Patients over the age of 16 whose mental capacity is unimpaired should normally complain themselves or authorise someone to bring a complaint on their behalf.
  • Children under the age of 16 can also make their own complaint, if they’re able to do so.

If a patient lacks capacity to make decisions, their representative must be able to demonstrate sufficient interest in the patient’s welfare and be an appropriate person to act on their behalf. This could be a partner, relative or someone appointed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 with lasting power of attorney.

Appropriate person

In certain circumstances, we need to check that a representative is the appropriate person to make a complaint.

  • For example, if the complaint involves a child, we must satisfy ourselves that there are reasonable grounds for the representative to complain, rather than the child concerned.
  • If the patient is a child or a patient who lacks capacity, we must also be satisfied that the representative is acting in the patient’s best interests.

If we are not satisfied that the representative is an appropriate person we will not consider the complaint, and will give the representative the reasons for our decision in writing.

Time limits

A complaint must be made within 12 months, either from the date of the incident or from when the complainant first knew about it.

The regulations state that a responsible body should only consider a complaint after this time limit if:

  • the complainant has good reason for doing so, and
  • it’s still possible to investigate the complaint fairly and effectively, despite the delay.

Procedure

We have a two stage complaints procedure. We will always try to deal with your complaint quickly however if it is clear that the matter will need a detailed investigation, we will notify you and then keep you updated on our progress.

Stage one – Early, local resolution

  • We will try to resolve your complaint within five working days if possible.
  • If you are dissatisfied with our response, you can ask us to escalate your complaint to Stage Two.

Stage Two – Investigation

  • We will look at your complaint at this stage if you are dissatisfied with our response at Stage One.
  • We also escalate some complaints straight to this stage, if it is clear that they are complex or need detailed investigation.
  • We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and we will give you our decision as soon as possible. This will be no more that 20 working days unless there is clearly a good reason for needing more time to respond.

Complain to the Ombudsman

If, after receiving our final decision, you remain dissatisfied you may take your complaint to the Ombudsman.

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 and it will generally not look into your complaint if it happened more than 12 months ago, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Address:
Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman
Tower 30
Millbank
London SW1P 4QP

Phone: 0345 015 4033

email the Ombudsman 

Page last reviewed: 17 March 2026
Page created: 12 March 2026