Complaints procedure

Most problems can be sorted out quickly and easily with the person concerned, often at the time they arise, and this may be the approach you try first.

Where you are not able to resolve your complaint in this way to may wish to make a formal complaint. This can be done so either verbally or in writing. 

When you make a complaint please provide as much detail regarding specific incidents as possible as this will help your complaint to be investigated.

A complaints form can be found on our website or can be collected from our reception.

Please send written complaints to Aaron Cameron:

• By email: hnyicb-voy.beechtreeadmin@nhs.net 
• By Post: Beech Tree Surgery, 68 Doncaster Road, Selby, YO8 9AJ

Verbal complaints can be made to any member of the Beech Tree Surgery team.

You may also make your complaint directly to Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership Integrated Care Board, who commission our service:

• By telephone: 01904 555999 
• By email: hnyicb.experience@nhs.net
• By post: The Experience Team, Humber and North Yorkshire ICB, Health Place, Wrawby Road, Brigg DN20 8GS 

We aim to resolve complaints as soon as possible. We will usually acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two working days. We will then investigate your complaint within 14 days. It may be that during the investigation we need to contact you for further information.

When investigating a complaint, we will always look at what has happened and what we can learn from it.

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 initially sent to an incorrect organisation, we may seek your consent to forward this to the correct organisation to deal with.

When the investigation is complete you will receive a final response. The final response letter will include details of the  result of your complaint and your right to refer the matter further to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (shown below) if you remain dissatisfied with the response. You will normally be invited to meet with relevant members of the Practice Team to discuss the complaint should you find it helpful.

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 the written consent of the patient to confirm that they are unhappy with their treatment and that we can deal with someone else about it. In the event the patient is deceased, then we may agree to respond to a family member or anyone acting on their behalf or who has had an interest in the welfare of the patient. 

Please ask at reception for the Complaints Form, which contains a suitable authority for the patient to sign to enable the complaint to proceed. Alternatively, we will send one to you to return to us when we receive your initial written complaint. 

Where the patient is incapable of providing consent due to illness, accident, or mental capacity, it may still be possible to deal with the complaint. Please provide the precise details of the circumstances that 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.  You may also find that if you are complaining on behalf of a child who is capable of making their own complaint, we will expect that child to contact us themselves to lodge their complaint. 

We may still need to correspond directly with the patient or may be able to deal directly with the third party. This depends on the wording of the authority provided. 

You have the right to approach the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman.

You can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman:

• By post: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Citygate, Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3HQ
• By Telephone: 0345 0154033
• Via their website: www.ombudsman.org.uk 

You may also approach PALS, Healthwatch or the Independent Health Complaints Advocacy for help or advice.

The local Healthwatch can be found at: www.healthwatch.co.uk 

The IHCA is able to be contacted at: www.seap.org.uk/services/nhs-complaints-advocacy