Complaints

 

As providers of services through the National Health Service it is incumbent upon us through our NHS contract to operate what is called 'clinical governance’ part of which is published and readily accessible Complaints Procedure. Our charter on complaints is laid out below and must be printed off and given to all members of the public making a complaint, regardless of whether or not they request it.

 

Patient Charter on Complaints

 

How to Complain:

• Informal complaints ~ If you are dissatisfied your complaint should be resolved at the time in the practice. If you are returning to the practice with a grievance please try and see the staff member who last served you. Apart from giving them the opportunity of rectifying your complaint it also makes continuity of communication much easier and will speed any resolution of your problem. Whilst it is always preferable to resolve any complaints with the practice concerned you may wish to complain direct to NHS England (if your complaint relates to an eye examination) or one of the other bodies listed below.
• Formal complaints ~If you do not receive satisfaction or for any reason you do not wish to see the original member of staff you should ask to see the supervisor or manager of the practice. This more formal process will comprise of the discussion being recorded on our “complaints record form”. This will aid clarity and ensure that the staff member to whom you are complaining fully understands your complaint. The form will document your complaint and the resolution agreed by the both of you. If the problem cannot be resolved immediately the form will record the timescale expected for the resolution.
• Written complaints ~ By their nature written complaints are formal. These should be made, in the first instance to the practice manager of the practice you attended. Your communication will be immediately acknowledged. This communication will outline the procedure & time scale required to investigate and report back on your complaint.

 

Escalation Procedure
In the unlikely event that this process does not meet with your satisfaction you are invited to make your complaint directly to the Group CEO, James Risley at the address shown below. The Group CEO will guarantee to fully investigate the complaint including reviewing any clinical or other records and the complaints form completed in the original practice. This means that it may be necessary for the him to contact you in order to complete his investigations. This will be done within 3 days.

In the extremely unlikely event that you feel your problem remains unresolved, you have the right to complain to either the Optical Consumer Complaints Service (service or product related complaints) or the General Optical Council (clinical complaints) at the addresses shown below.

If your complaint remains unresolved and is related to an incident involving National Health Service funding you have the right for your complaint to be reviewed by the NHS Commissioning Board. They can be contacted by phone on 0300 311 22 33 or in writing at NHS England, PO Box16738, Redditch B97 9PT or by email at england.contactus@nhs.net stating ‘’for the attention of the complaints team’’ in the subject header.

 

Complaining On Behalf Of Others
Due to confidentiality of clinical data it is not possible for us to respond to third parties regarding a complaint without express written permission from the patient.

 

Useful Addresses:
Robert Frith Services, Robert Frith Services Ltd, Unit 17 Kingsmead Business Park, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5FB

The Optical Consumer Complaints Service, OCCS, 6 Market Square, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire CM23 3UZ   www.opticalcomplaints.co.uk

The General Optical Council, Fitness to Practise Team,10 Old Bailey London EC4M 7NG

NHS England, PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT, or via email england.contactus@nhs.net