Complaints/Compliments

Victoria Road Surgery Compliments

Victoria Road Surgery Complaints Procedure

Victoria Road Surgery follows the National Patient Safety Agency Guidelines, specifically the Seven Steps to Patient Safety in general practice. We are committed to open communication with our patients and the public, including welcoming any complaints about the service you have received.

We operate a complaints procedure that meets the national criteria to ensure your concerns are handled fairly and promptly.

Please find the details below.

HOW TO COMPLAIN:

While we strive to provide a professional and efficient service, we recognize that sometimes issues may arise. Our aim is to resolve problems promptly, often at the time they occur, by speaking directly with the person(s) involved.

If you are unable to raise your concern immediately, please inform us as soon as possible afterwards. This allows us to address the issue quickly and carry out any necessary investigations without delay.

Complaints can be made by:

• Writing/Email: Please send a letter or email to the Practice Manager or Communications Lead.
• Telephone: Call the Practice Manager directly

CONTACT DETAILS:

• F.A.O: Jo Lowes – Practice Manager and/or Donna May – Communications Lead
• Address: Victoria Road Surgery, 50 Victoria Road, Worthing, BN11 1XE
• Phone : 01903 230 656
• Email: sxicb-wsx.victoriaroad-worthing@nhs.net

Please follow link attached to access our complaints form: complaints form

WHAT WE WILL DO:

We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days and aim to:

• Understand what happened and identify what went wrong.
• Offer you the opportunity to discuss the issue with those involved, if you wish.
• Agree on a clear timeframe for investigating your complaint.
• Provide a sincere apology where appropriate.
• Identify any errors and ensure learning takes place to prevent recurrence.
• Provide you with a written response at the conclusion of the investigation, explaining how your complaint has been resolved, any actions taken, and informing you of your right to escalate the matter to the Health Services Ombudsman if you remain dissatisfied.

IF YOU WISH TO COMPLAIN ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE:

Please be aware that we strictly adhere to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are submitting a complaint on behalf of another person, we will require their written permission to proceed.

This means a signed consent form from the individual concerned must be provided, unless they are unable to do so due to illness or incapacity.

Please refer to the attached form for this purpose.

COMPLAINING TO THE HEALTH SERVICES OMBUDSMAN:

We encourage you to use our practice complaints procedure if you experience any problems. We believe this gives us the best opportunity to put things right and to learn from any mistakes to improve our services.

However, if you remain dissatisfied after we have completed our local resolution process, you have the right to contact the Health Service Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is entirely independent of the NHS and the Government.

You can contact the Ombudsman in the following ways:

• Phone: 0345 015 4033 (Monday to Friday, 08:30 – 17:30)
• SMS: Text 07624 813 005 to request a call back
• Online: Visit www.ombudsman.org.uk to complete an online complaint form
• Post: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank,
  London, SW1P 4QP

NEED FURTHER HELP?:

If you need additional support or wish to raise your concerns beyond our practice, the following organisations can assist:

NHS Sussex Complaints Team

(From 6th January 2025)

• Phone: 0300 140 9854 (Monday to Friday, excluding weekends and bank holidays)
• Email: sxicb.complaints@nhs.net
• Post: NHS Sussex, Sackville House, Brooks Close, Lewes, BN7 2FZ

Each complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days.

Health watch West Sussex

Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service (IHCAS)

• Phone: 0300 012 0122
• Email: ihcas@healthwatchwestsussex.co.uk
• Post: Healthwatch West Sussex, PO Box 1360, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 0QS

They offer free, independent support to help you make a complaint about NHS services.

Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS)

ICAS provides advice and support to people who want to complain about NHS services.

• Address: Ground Floor, 7 Vale Avenue, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 1DJ
• Phone: 0300 456 2370
• Website: www.seap.org.uk/icas

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

If you have a genuine concern about a member of staff or a regulated activity carried out by this practice, you can contact the CQC:

• Phone: 03000 616161
• Website: www.cqc.org.uk