Suggestions and Complaints

Raising your concern

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

Where you are not able to resolve your concern in this way and wish to raise a formal concern, you should do so, preferably in writing, as soon as possible after the event and ideally within a few days, as this helps us to establish what happened more easily. In any event, this should be:

Within 12 months of the incident, or within 12 months of you discovering that you have cause for concern, 
Please give as much detail as you can.

If you are a registered patient you can raise a concern about your own care. You are not able to raise a concern about someone else’s treatment without their written authority.

Complaints

We are able to provide you with a separate form to register your concern 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 concern to:

Ceri Moss
Practice Manager
Maendy Place Surgery/Abercwmboi Medical Practice
1-3 John Street
Abercwmboi
Aberdare
CF44 6BL

 

What we do next

We aim to resolve concerns as soon as possible.

We will acknowledge receipt of your concern within 3 working days, and aim to have looked into the matter and respond to you within 30 working days. 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 looking into a concern we attempt to see what happened and why, to see if there is something we can learn from this, and make it possible for you to discuss the issue with those involved if you would like to do so.
When the investigations are complete, a final response will be sent to you.

Where your concern 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 concern has been sent initially to an incorrect organisation, we may seek your consent to forward this to the correct person to deal with.

The final response letter will include details of the result of your concern and also your right to escalate the matter further if you remain dissatisfied with the response.

 

Raising concerns on behalf of someone else

We keep to the strict rules of medical and personal confidentiality. If you wish to raise a concern 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. 

Please ask at reception for the concerns form which contains a suitable authority for the patient to sign to enable the concern to be investigated.

Where the patient is incapable of providing consent due to illness or accident it may still be possible to deal with the concern. Please provide the precise details of the circumstances which 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.

We may still need to correspond direct with the patient, or may be able to deal direct with the third party, and this depends on the wording of the authority provided.

 

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome

You have the right to approach the Public Health Service Ombudsman for Wales. 

The contact details are:

The Public Health Services Ombudsman for Wales
1 Ffordd yr Hen Gae Pencoed CF35 5LJ
Tel:    0300 790 0203 / 0845 601 0987
E-mail: ask@ombudsman.wales

VISIT THEIR WEBSITE

You may also approach your local community health council for help or advice;

The community health council is based at the local health board (see address below). It provides confidential advice and support, helping you to sort out any concerns you may have about the care we provide, guiding you through the different services available from the NHS. 

10 Maritime Offices
Woodland Terrace
Maesycoed
Pontypridd
CF37 1DZ

The person responsible for dealing with concerns at the practice is:

Ceri Moss
Practice Manager

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