Complaints
In responding to a complaint, we aim to treat you the way we would like to be treated if we were in your position. We aim to respond to your complaint effectively and ensure that we take the opportunity to learn and improve our service.
In order that a complaint is responded to and investigated if it is made in person, it will be confirmed in writing to make sure we have understood the issue.
If a patient complains in writing, the letter or email will be acknowledged in writing and enclose a copy of this complaints policy as soon as possible, normally within five working days. We will seek to investigate the complaint and respond within a reasonable time period. We will notify the patient, giving them an idea of the timescales. If the time frame needs to be extended, a letter will be sent to you outlining the rationale for this and the proposed date by which a response will be given. This will take into account the nature of the complaint and the availability of information required to further the investigation. Please note proper and comprehensive records are kept of any complaint received.
A response will then be sent to you. The response will contain:
- A summary of the investigation.
- The decision as to whether your complaint has been upheld or not.
- Reasons for this decision.
- Any redress which can be offered if appropriate, i.e., a verbal or written apology, a refund or deduction in fees or other appropriate measures.
- A summary of any action to be taken as a result of the complaint.
If the complaint is not resolved at this level then you will be provided with the contact details for the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), an Alternative Dispute Resolution provider. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) encourages (as a matter of good practice) all independent healthcare providers to offer an independent external review stage that can provide patients with a route to resolve a complaint if it is not resolved via the providers’ in-house complaints process. One highly respected and well managed independent adjudication scheme for private healthcare is the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS) which is hosted within CEDR.
Private Healthcare Mediation is managed independently by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), an Alternative Dispute Resolution provider. This scheme provides independent mediation (over the phone) between subscribing organisations and their patients if they are unable to resolve their complaints directly through the organisations own complaints procedure.