General Provisions

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. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

To pursue a complaint see our guidance below.

Making a complaint

Most problems can be sorted out quickly and easily, often at the time they arise with the person concerned and this may be the approach you try first (a ‘verbal complaint’).

Where you are not able to resolve your complaint in this way and wish to make a formal complaint you should do so, preferably in writing as soon as possible after the event and ideally within a few days, as this helps us to establish what happened more easily. In any event, this should be:

• Within 12 months of the incident, or 
• Within 12 months of you discovering the cause for complaint so that you can give as much detail as you can. 

If you are a registered patient you can complain about your own care. You are unable to complain about someone else’s treatment without their written authority. Please see ‘Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else’ section for further information.

Send your written complaint to:

Mrs Sarah Szreider, Head of Business, Administration & Finance, Northgate Health Centre, 15 Market St, Oxford OX1 3EF

Or via the Contact Us Form.

What we will do next

We look to settle complaints as soon as possible.

We will acknowledge receipt within 3 working days, and aim to have looked into the matter within 28 working days. You may then receive a formal reply in writing, or you may be invited to meet with the person(s) concerned to attempt to resolve the issue. If the matter is likely to take longer than this we will let you know, and keep you informed as the investigation progresses.

When looking into a complaint we attempt to see what happened and why, to see if there is something we can learn from this, and make it possible for you to discuss the issue with those involved if you would like to do so.

When the investigations are complete your complaint will be determined and a final response sent to you.

Where your complaint involves more than one organisation (e.g. social services) we will liaise with that organisation so that you receive one coordinated reply. We may need your consent to do this. Where your complaint has been sent initially to an incorrect organisation, we may seek your consent to forward this to the correct person to deal with.

The final response letter will include details of the result of your complaint and also your right to escalate the matter further if you remain dissatisfied with the response.

Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else

• We keep to the strict rules of medical and personal confidentiality. If you wish to make a complaint and are not the patient involved, we will require consent of the patient to confirm that they are unhappy with their treatment and that we can deal with someone else about it.
• Where the patient is incapable of providing consent due to illness or accident it may still be possible to deal with the complaint. Please provide the precise details of the circumstances which prevent this in your covering letter.
• Please note that we are unable to discuss any issue relating to someone else without their express permission, which must be in writing, unless the circumstances above apply.
• We may still need to correspond direct with the patient, or may be able to deal direct with the third party, and this depends on the wording of the authority provided.

The Health Service Ombudsman

The Health Service Ombudsman has published a booklet that describes the ‘six principles for remedy’ in relation to complaints handling and involves:

If you remain unhappy after everything has been done to try to resolve your concern or complaint you have the right to approach the Ombudsman via their website