Complaints Policy

If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the personnel working in this practice, please let us know. We operate a practice complaint procedure as part of an NHS complaints system, which meets or exceeds national criteria.

How to complain

Most problems can be out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned.

And this may be the approach you try first.

Where you are not able to resolve your complaint in this way and wish to make a formal complaint you should do so, preferably in writing as soon as possible  – after the event, this should be.

This will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If doing that is not possible your complaint should be submitted within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem; or within 12 months of discovering that you have a problem. You should address your complaint in writing to the Practice Manager. He/she will make sure that we deal with your concerns promptly and in the correct way. You should be as specific and concise as possible.

We are able to provide you with a separate complaints form to register your complaint and this includes a third-party authority form to enable a complaint to be made by someone else. Please ask at reception for this. You can provide this in your own format providing this covers all the necessary aspects.

Send your written complaints to

Practice Manager, Fountayne Road Medical Practice 1a Fountayne Road, London, N16 7EA 

What we will do next

We look to settle complaints as soon as possible.

We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to have fully investigated within 10 working days of the date it was received.

You may then receive a formal reply in writing, or you may be invited to meet with the person(s) concerned to attempt to resolve the issue. If the matter is likely to take longer than this we will let you know, and keep you informed as the investigation progresses.

When we look into your complaint, we will investigate the circumstances; make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned; make sure you receive an apology if this is appropriate, and take steps to make sure any problem does not arise again.

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 forward this to the correct person to deal with.

You will receive a final letter setting out the result of any practice investigations and your right to escalate the matter further if you remain dissatisfied with the response.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

We keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality (a separate leaflet giving more detail on confidentiality is available on request). If you are not the patient, but are complaining on their behalf, you must have their permission to do so. An authority signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness or infirmity) of providing this.

Please ask for A Third-Party Consent Form at reception.

Further advice and support or if you are dissatisfied with our response

We hope we can resolve your complaint internally. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our practice complaints procedure and our practice. But this does not affect your right to approach the NHS commissioning board if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us or you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation.

If you feel your complaint cannot be resolved locally with the practice, you can contact the NHS Commissioning Board at:

Visit the NHS England website

If you have any comment or complaint about a hospital, mental health or community trust please contact them directly.

If you are not satisfied following all attempts to resolve your complaint locally, you have the right to ask for an independent review through the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). This must be done within 12 months of this response letter. Their contact details are:

Visit the Ombudsman website