Complaints relating to Mount Pleasant Health Centre, please refer to the procedure below.
Complaints related to external care (e.g. hospital, ambulance, pharmacy), click here.
We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends the health centre.
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.
If appropriate, please use our comments and suggestions page here, if you have any feedback about the health centre or any suggestions as to how we can improve our service.
If the issue constitutes an official complaint, please find information on how to do so below.
Making an official complaint
If you have any complaints or concerns about the service that you have received from the doctors or staff working for this health centre, please let us know.
We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible – ideally within a matter of days or at most a few weeks – because this will enable us to establish what happened more easily.
We would encourage you to raise any concerns with us soon after you have experienced a problem. If you make a complaint more than 12 months after the incident that caused your problem, it is much more difficult for us to investigate the incident thoroughly. In this case, we will do our best to investigate, and we will let you know if there are difficulties, for example if information is no longer available. The time constraint on bringing a complaint is 12 months from the occurrence giving rise to the complaint, or 12 months from the time you become aware of the matter about which you wish to complain.
Our Complaints Coordinator will be glad to address any concerns or grievances. They will actively listen to any concerns, explain our procedures to you and advocate for you to make sure that your problems are dealt with promptly. You can make your complaint:
In writing – most complaints may be easier to explain in writing. Please give as much information as you can, then send your complaint to the Health Centre via email, post or hand it in to reception, for the attention of the Complaints Coordinator.
Download Complaints FormIn person or phone call – if our Complaints Coordinator is available, they will be happy to take down the details of your complaint in person or over the phone.
What we shall do
Our complaints procedure is designed to make sure that we settle any complaints as quickly as possible.
We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days. We aim to have investigated your complaint within 28 working days of the date when you raised it with us, although in some cases more time may be required. We will keep you informed if there is any delay in investigating your complaint.
When we look into your complaint, we shall aim to:
- find out what happened and what went wrong
- make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate
- identify what we can do to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again
- make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned if you would like to do this
At the end of the investigation, we should then be able to offer you an explanation and discuss any details with you.
As a Practice we regularly consider the outcomes of any complaints to ensure we learn how to improve our service to provide the best care we can for our patients.
Annual Complaints Review
Separate to appropriately addressing and learning from a complaint, we conduct an annual complaints review, led by our complaints lead GP with our whole practice team. Each complaint is reviewed and discussed again by multi-disciplinary teams to identify any further learning or actions which then helps guide some of our staff training.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
Because of the rules of medical confidentiality, if you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we need to know that you have their permission to do so. A note of consent signed by the patient concerned will be required before we can release any information. Complaints may be made on behalf of a child under 11, by a parent or guardian. Complaints may be made by a relative on behalf of a patient who lacks capacity to complain.
Alternative contacts
Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB):
- Telephone – 0300 123 1672 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm)
- Email – d-icb.patientexperience@nhs.net
- Post – Patient Advice and Complaints team, NHS Devon, Aperture House, Pynes Hill, Rydon Lane, Exeter, Devon, EX2 5AZ
Independent Health Complaints Advocacy (IHCA)
The Devon Advocacy Consortium are commissioned by Devon County Council and Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust. They operate independently of the local authority and any other commissioning bodies to provide the following free and independent advocacy services across Devon and Torbay:
- General and Health Complaints Advocacy – Devon only
- Care Act Advocacy
- Independent Mental Health Advocacy
- Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy
You can contact the Devon Advocacy Consortium by calling: 01392 822377
Should you continue to remain unhappy with the outcome, you can refer the matter to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman who are independent of the NHS and the Government.
- Telephone – 0345 015 4033 (Monday to Thursday, 8am to 5pm and Friday, 8.30am to 12pm)
- Post – The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP
Page updated: 11th March 2024