Complaint Policy

You can make a complaint about:

• NHS care or treatment you have had or are having at the practice;
• Our services or facilities;
• A member of staff;
• How services in the local area are organised, if this has affected your care or treatment.

It is not possible to list everything you can complain about. If you want to complain about something not listed above, we encourage you to do so.

You cannot use this complaints procedure:

• If you have commenced legal proceedings about the issue you want to complain about.
  NB: We will we always offer to resolve your complaint through this complaints procedure before legal action commences.
• To request a second opinion in respect of care or treatment
• For a previously concluded complaint or a request to have a complaint reconsidered where we have already given our final decision.
• A complaint that is being or has been investigated by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO)

 It is not possible to list everything you cannot complain about. If other procedures can help you resolve your concerns, we will give information and advice to help you.

 Time limits:

Normally, you must make your complaint within 6 months of:

• the event you want to complain about; or
• finding out that you have a reason to complain, but no longer than 12 months after the event

How to make a complaint:

• You can complain in person, by phone, online or in writing. Please note that if you fax or email other people may be able to see your personal information.
• If you can, please first talk to a member of staff involved with your care. We will try to sort out the complaint on the spot.
• If you are unable to talk to the member of staff involved with your care, ask to speak to Tracy Bell.
• If you don’t want to complain to anyone in the practice, you can contact the Patient Advice and Support Service or the NHS Dumfries and Galloway Feedback and Complaints Team (see under Contacts).  
• When making your complaint, please give:

• Your full name and address*
• The full name, address and date of birth of the patient, if you are complaining on behalf of someone else;
• As much helpful information as possible about what happened, where it happened and when, and what you would like to have done about it;
• Your preferred method of communication; and
• Permission from the patient, if you are making the complaint on behalf of the patient.

*You can make an anonymous complaint but this is likely to limit the ability of the practice to resolve it.

Confidentiality

• We will keep information about your complaint confidential. We may have to talk to other NHS staff or show them your dental record. If you do not want us to share information from your dental record, please tell us when you make your complaint, but bear in mind this may make it more difficult to look into your complaint.
• We will keep a record of your details and the complaint and use it to help improve our services, and for statistical purposes.

What we will do:

 We have a two-stage complaints handling procedure. We will always consider if a complaint can be dealt with at Stage 1 first. If we think the complaint is too complex or serious and clearly needs to be investigated, we will go straight to Stage 2. You also have the right for ask for an investigation (without going through Stage 1).

Stage 1: Early Stage

• We always aim to resolve complaints quickly and close to where we provide the service. Where appropriate this could mean an on-the-spot apology and explanation if something has clearly gone wrong, and immediate action to resolve the problem.
• We will make you aware of this complaints policy and where you can turn to for support for making a complaint (see Contacts).  
• Sometimes we will need to make some enquiries before we can respond to your complaint. If this is the case, we will give you our response within 5 workings days using your preferred method of communication.
• In exceptional circumstances, an additional 5 working days may be needed to respond to your complaint, but we will keep you informed of this and will only apply this extension with your agreement.
• We will meet with you to discuss the matter if you prefer. You may bring someone with you to the meeting.
• If you are not happy with our Stage 1 response to your complaint, you can ask for an investigation (see Stage 2 – Investigation below).
• Where appropriate, we will offer to discuss your complaint with you to understand why you remain dissatisfied following our response to your complaint.

Stage 2 – Investigation

• We will use the Investigation stage where:
• your complaint is complex and we believe it requires detailed investigation; or
• you are not satisfied with our Stage 1 Early resolution response to your complaint; or
• you ask for an immediate investigation.

• We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing within 3 working days.
• We will tell you what action we will take to look into the complaint.
• We will let you know where you can find support for making a complaint.  
• We will respond to the complaint within 20 working days in writing and using your preferred method of communication, if that is different. If we are unable to keep to this timescale we will let you know and tell you why, and agree revised time limits with you.

• Our response will let you know the result of the investigation. We will:

• Show that we have looked into your complaint and reply to all the points you make;
• Offer an apology if things have gone wrong;
• Explain what we will do to stop what you complained about happening again;
• If necessary, explain why we cannot do anything more about some parts of your complaint;
• Offer you the chance to talk to a member of staff if there is anything in the letter you do not understand;
• Include information about the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman in case you are unhappy with our response or the way we have handled your complaint and you want to take things further.