Concerns, Comments, Complaints? (NHS patients)

GenesisCare UK aims to provide care and treatment of the highest standard in all respects. If you feel that your experience has fallen below this standard we want you to tell us.

This leaflet gives you information about how to raise a concern, make a comment or make a complaint about any aspect of our services

We do everything we can to ensure you receive high standards of care. However, we do recognise that sometimes, despite our best efforts, we may not meet your expectations. Should this happen, we will do our best to put things right and learn from your complaint; to make sure that the same thing doesn’t happen again. We value complaints for the feedback they provide so when patients and/or visitors offer criticism – WE LISTEN and use this information to continually improve our services and facilities

If you are unhappy about the care you have received, please ask to speak to the person in charge of the centre as soon as possible. They may well be able to resolve things straight away. If you have concerns about the care received by someone that you know, other than yourself, we will only be able to communicate with you about any concerns where we have the patients express written consent to do so.

If you are unhappy with our facilities or services we want to know about it as soon as possible. We will then investigate the situation so that we can explain, apologise and take positive action where necessary. It is best to make your complaint as soon as possible as memories will be fresher and it will be easier to investigate the facts.

You should normally complain within six months of the incident you are concerned about, or within six months of finding out there was something to complain about.

If you have a complaint about GenesisCare UK you either complain directly to the manager of centre that you attended or you may complain to the NHS organisation that referred you for treatment at GenesisCare UK.

If your complaint is about the referring NHS organisation and GenesisCare UK, you can complain to either organisation. Once the complaint has been received, the NHS and GenesisCare will work together to investigate your complaint.

You can also complain to your NHS commission board of Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Details of how to contact these NHS services can be provided by your referring NHS organisation.

If, despite our best efforts, we are unable to resolve your concerns informally, you can make a formal complaint. You can make a complaint, verbally or in writing, for the attention of the Centre Leader. Complaints can also be made by various media including; email, text, online reviews.

If the complaint is about a clinician or independent practitioner, it should be addressed to the Centre Leader, they will liaise with the clinician/independent practitioner to address the concerns.

We always handle complaints in confidence, investigate the concerns raised and aim to offer a clear and complete explanation

Should you need assistance in writing a complaint letter advice can be sought from: The Patients Association, Citizen’s Advice Bureau or POhWER. You can also request a copy of the GenesisCare UK Complaints procedure before you make a complaint.

You do not need to write a long and very detailed letter, but you should include all the points you wish to see addressed.

GenesisCare UK is a member of Independent Healthcare Sector Complaints Adjudication Services (ISCAS) and as such we follow their three stage approach to resolving complaints.

Stage 1 – Local Resolution:

Once we receive the complaint the Centre Leader will:

• Acknowledge its receipt within 48 hours
• Instigate a full review and investigation into the complaint
• work with the appropriate clinical staff to answer your concerns

The Centre Leader will then reply in full, within 20 working days. If the investigation is still going on after 20 days, we will write to explain the delay. This is unless you have indicated a preference to communicate in another way, e.g. by telephone or you have expressed a choice not to receive these until the investigation is complete.

Our full response will:

• Share our findings with you
• Acknowledge and apologise for any mistakes we have made
• Ensure that action is taken to stop a similar problem happening in the future
• Share with you the actions we are taking when serious failings in services are identified

The Centre Leader will offer you a meeting to talk through your concerns, but at any point in the process you may also request a meeting.

In this case it is advisable to discuss arrangements concerning how you would like the meeting to be conducted, including any support you will need, e.g. you may be concerned that you will have difficulty communicating in a meeting and require assistance in understanding what you are told. Any challenges you have or additional support that is needed which could impact on your ability to deal with a meeting should be stated and we shall try our best to accommodate your needs.

Notes of the discussions will be taken at the meeting and a copy will be made available to you, along with any notes of any telephone discussions that have taken place. After the meeting, if no further action is proposed, you will be sent a full, written response concerning the local resolution. Where we do not propose to take any further action we will inform you of the basis for this decision and our decision will be formally recorded. This response will also tell you what to do next if you are not satisfied.

If, upon receipt of our full response, you require further clarification or the opportunity to discuss remaining concerns, then you can request this support through the Centre Leader named in our correspondence with you.

Alternately, if you are not happy with the outcome of our Stage 1 investigation, you have the right to escalate your concerns to Stage 2.

Stage 2 of our complaints procedure involves an internal review of the complaint and investigations, this internal review is conducted by individuals that were not involved in the initial response, and not involved in the subject matter of the complaint and is therefore independent.

Stage 2 – Referral to the GenesisCare Safety and Quality Team

The request for further investigation into your concerns should be made within 6 months of you receiving our full and final written response at Stage 1. The Centre Leaders full response letter will explain what to do and where to send your correspondence.

The Safety and Quality Team will review the initial documents and concerns and the outcome of this internal review will be communicated to you in writing. We will also advise you of your right to refer the matter externally if you are not satisfied.

Stage 3 of the complaints procedure is for you to write to the Parliamentary Healthcare Services Ombudsman (PHSO):

Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.or.uk

Address: Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman

Milbank Tower

Millbank

London

SW1P 4QP

Telephone: 0345 015 4033

As a dedicated healthcare provider, we aim to improve services as a result of the information we receive from complaints. If you make a complaint about the care you or your relative have received, this will not in any way adversely affect any care you receive in the future. Correspondence and records relating to any complaint are not retained in your health records.

When we are investigating your complaint, information from your health records may need to be disclosed to those involved. This will only be information relevant to your complaint. If you do not want information from your health records to be disclosed, let us know but do bear in mind that this may affect the extent to which we can investigate your complaint.

Anonymous concerns received will be logged and investigated insofar as we are able to do so based on the information available but will fall outside the scope of our standard handling process. There will be no opportunity of communicating our responses or advice and support on alternatives available to you in the event that we receive an anonymous complaint. However, the issue will be recorded so as to ensure that trends in complaints are identified as fully as possible.

We shall provide the assistance identified and requested you may reasonably require to assist with understanding information and guidance and the complaints procedure, for example through advocates, interpreter services, communication aids, explanations of medical phraseology, braille etc.

The NHS Complaints Advocacy Service

A free confidential service that advises and supports people who are complaining about the NHS. This service is independent of the NHS and has offices throughout England. To find your nearest one, contact your local council.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) at local referring NHS organisation

The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) offers free confidential advice, support and information on health-related matters. PALS staff are NHS employees. They provide a point of contact for patients, their families and their carers.

Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA)

AvMA is the national charity for patient safety and justice. It provides free specialist advice and support, through its helpline and casework service, to people affected by medical accidents.

You can contact AvMA’s helpline on 0845 123 2352 or visit www.avma.org.uk.

Patients Association

A national health care charity that highlights patients’ concerns and needs. It provides advice aimed at helping people to get the best out of their health care and tells you where you can get more information and advice. Contact the Patients Association’s helpline on 0845 608 4455 or visit www.patients-association.org.uk.

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice provides free, confidential and independent advice. To find out more, visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk.

Notwithstanding the complaints procedure outlined above, you have, in addition, the right to seek independent or legal advice where your complaint might give rise to a clinical negligence claim.

What if my complaint relates to a third parties or another organisation?

If your complaint involves a third party, then we may need to share your details with them. If we do, we will contact you to confirm your consent.