NHS Feedback and Complaints: General Information
How do I feedback or make a complaint about an NHS service?
Most NHS care and treatment goes well but sometimes things can go wrong. If you are unhappy with your care or the service you have received, it is important to let us know so we can improve. There are two ways to tell the NHS what you think:
- Give feedback
- Make a complaint
Giving feedback
Feedback helps us improve the quality of your care. You can give good or bad feedback by telling the NHS organisation or service about it. For example, you can do this by using the ‘contact us’ form on this website, by emailing dgs.health@nhs.net or by calling us on 01474 55 55 30 and asking to speak to our Chief Nurse Kate Bushell – or you can speak to any other member of staff if you prefer.
Most of our services have feedback cards placed in the surgery. Please look for our logo, complete the card and hand it to the reception desk. For every card returned, we make a small donation to The Ellenor Hospice.
Charity/Fundraising
DGS Health enjoys fundraising and working with local charities, recently supporting the Ellenor who provide hospice care and support families facing life limiting illnesses in Kent.
If you are unhappy with any NHS service, it is worthwhile discussing your concerns early on with the service, as they may be able to sort the issue out quickly. Most problems can be dealt with at this stage but, in some cases, you may feel more comfortable speaking to someone not directly involved in your care.
Complaints information
When making a complaint, you can choose to complain to either of the following:
The healthcare provider
This is the organisation where you received the NHS service, for example your hospital, GP surgery or dental surgery. In this case, we are DGS Health and complaints can be made by email, by telephone or in person.
The commissioner
This is the organisation that pays for the service or care you received. This will vary depending on the NHS service you are complaining about.
- If your complaint is about primary care services such as GPs, dentists, opticians or pharmacy services, contact NHS England.
- If your complaint is about services such as hospital care, mental health services, out of hours services and community services such as district nursing, contact your local integrated care board (ICB), this is NHS Kent and Medway.
- If your complaint is about public health organisations (those who provide services which prevent disease, promote health and prolong life), contact Kent County Council.
- If you wish to give feedback regarding the service you received from NHS 111 or make a complaint, please contact the NHS via email: england.contactus@nhs.net and state the location you called from when contacting NHS 111. This will allow the NHS to identify which local service took the call and provide contact details.
Complaining to the commissioner may be the right option if you are not comfortable complaining directly to your healthcare provider, or if you feel this is not appropriate. Please note: if you have already complained to your healthcare provider, the commissioner will not be able to re-investigate the same concerns. If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, you may wish to go to the next stage of the NHS complaints procedure.
How to make a complaint
We strive to ensure that you receive the highest possible standard of care and that you have a positive experience of using our services. However, sometimes we may get this wrong.
To ensure that we learn from such occasions and so that we can improve on the way we deliver our care please do not hesitate to contact us.
Our Complaints Lead is Kate Bushell, Chief Nurse, and she can be contacted on 01474 55 55 30.
A full copy of our Complaints Policy is available upon request or can be accessed on our website www.dgshealth.co.uk
For more information about making a complaint please see the following website
https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/complaint/
Feedback cards are also provided at all our sites. We would be grateful if you could complete a card and hand it to reception to tell us about your experiences of our care, both good and where we need to improve.
For every card completed we make a small donation to The Ellenor Hospice.
What can I expect if I complain?
You should:
- have your complaint acknowledged and properly looked into
- be kept informed of progress and told the outcome
- be treated fairly, politely and with respect
- be reassured that your care and treatment will not be affected as a result of making a complaint
- be offered the opportunity to discuss the complaint with a complaints manager
- expect appropriate action to be taken following your complaint
Can I get help to make my complaint?
If you feel you would like help to make your complaint, support is available. Some people may decide not to make a complaint because they are put off by the process, find it confusing or believe nothing will happen. If you are thinking about making a complaint, it is important to know that you have access to local advocacy to help you make your complaint and provide support throughout the complaints process.
An NHS Complaints Advocate is independent of the NHS and may help you write a letter, attend a meeting with you or explain the options available to you. This service is free to anyone making a complaint about their NHS treatment or care.
How do I find a complaints advocate?
Your local Healthwatch can help you find independent NHS complaints advocacy services in your area.
You can also contact social services at your local council and ask about advocacy services.
POhWER is a charity that helps people to be involved in decisions being made about their care. Call POhWER’s support centre on 0300 456 2370 for advice.
SeAp Advocacy gives advocacy support. Call 0330 440 9000 for advice or text SEAP to 80800 and someone will get back to you.
Age UK may have advocates in your area. Visit their website or call 0800 055 6112.
VoiceAbility gives advocacy support. Call 01223 555800 for advice or find the contact details for your local VoiceAbility service.
Supporting people with a learning disability or autism
NHS England, the health, local government and social care Ombudsman services and others are leading a project called Ask Listen Do. This is about making it easier to give feedback, raise a concern or complain if you or someone you support has a learning disability, autism or both.
The Ask Listen Do website includes information and films for autistic people and people with a learning disability, as well as families and organisations in health, social care and education.
The NHS Constitution
The NHS Constitution sets out your rights as a patient, and explains the commitments the NHS has made to providing you with a high quality service. Organisations providing NHS care must take account of the NHS Constitution when treating you, so you may find it helpful to refer to it if you are thinking about making a complaint.
Unhappy with the outcome of your complaint?
If you are not happy with the way your complaint has been dealt with and would like to take the matter further, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) which makes final decisions on unresolved complaints about the NHS in England. It is an independent service which is free for everyone to use.
To take your complaint to the Ombudsman, visit the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website or call 0345 015 4033.
For public health services complaints, contact the Local Government Ombudsman.
The overall aim of all of our services is to provide accessible, safe and high-quality care, however there are occasions where a patient may feel that the quality or experience of our service or the care received does not meet this standard.
In all cases it is expected that any complaints raised are properly documented, investigated thoroughly and that any issues identified are attempted to be resolved and dealt with in an efficient and timely manner. We will communicate in a timely, transparent and open manner with the complainant throughout the stages of our investigation and operate a duty of candour in relation to appropriate disclosures relating to the quality of care they have received.
We take all complaints seriously and value the learning opportunity that complaints provide for the organisation and for individual members, helping us to improve the quality of the care we give to our patients. We take a learning approach and will ensure that any learning is embedded in our approach to the continuous improvement of our services.
DGS Health Complaints Process
Patients can provide feedback informally at any time by contacting us on 01474 55 55 30. For a formal complaint, patients are requested to email the details of their compliant to dgs.health@nhs.net or write to us at:
DGS Health GP Federation,
The Old Rectory,
Springhead Road, Northfleet,
Kent DA11 8HN.
All Complaints
- Upon receipt of a complaint it should be directed in the first instance to Kate Bushell, Chief Nurse, for investigation and coordination of a response.
- All complaints will be forwarded to the DGS GP Clinical Lead for Complaints, Dr Ian Jones, for information and oversight of the investigation process and final determination/sign off of the organisation’s response to the complaint.
- The complaint should be shared with the service lead for that service, and also the member of staff subject of a complaint, should the complaint be about an individual.
- Review will be required by all involved prior to the final response being sent, and our final response agreed by GP Clinical Director Lead for Complaints Dr Ian Jones.
ALL INCIDENTS AND NEAR MISSES WILL BE INVESTIGATED UNDER THE SERIOUS INCIDENT POLICY. ANY COMPLAINTS THAT GIVE RISE TO A SERIOUS INCIDENT WILL ALSO BE INVESTIGATED UNDER THE SUI POLICY.
Timelines
All complaints should be acknowledged within three working days, ideally by email or written form, or by telephone with a memo of the call noting the date and time of the call and a summary of the conversation.
The complaint should be investigated within 20 working days, subject to a further five days for final resolution and sign off by the GP Complaints Lead. The entire process from receipt of complaint should be no longer than 28 working days.
Complaints will be logged and monitored via the DGS Health Management Team Meetings and reported to the Board of Directors as part of Board reports. The complaint will provide an opportunity to improve our services and support individual learning and development. We will act upon any learning and development opportunities which will enable us to deliver better care.