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Comments, Suggestions And Complaints
Comments
The
practice welcomes patients' comments and suggestions on how to improve on the
services we offer our patients. We have a comment and suggestion box situated on the reception desk; the box is checked weekly and the contents discussed at practice meetings.
Complaints
We
hope that you are happy with the services we offer you but if you need to complain
then we have our own in-house complaints procedure. Our complaints procedure is
outlined below.
- Patient
wishes to make a complaint
- The
patient can either request to see the practice manager, complete the in-house
complaints form (available at reception) or write their own letter
- The
patient will be sent acknowledgement of the complaint within three days of receipt
- The
practice manager will do her best to investigate the complaint and provide a written
response within 14 working days
- The
patient will be notified if there is a problem gathering information or the complaint
requires the practice manager to liaise with outside agencies such as the hospital,
and therefore requires permission to disclose details of the complaint to a third
party
- If
the patient is unhappy with the response then they will be given an information leaflet explaining how to take the complaint further, to the Bedfordshire Primary Care Trust (details below) and, if they wish, the Health Care Commission
A summary
of complaints received throughout the year is discussed quarterly by the doctors
and practice manager.
The complaints procedure is reviewed annually.
Removal Of Violent And Abusive Patients
Patients who are violent and abusive towards any member of the practice team will be removed
from the practice list, the police will be notified and an incident number will
be logged. If this happens, then you will be offered alternative medical care
by the Primary Care Trust and at present this would mean travelling to Luton for
an agreed period of time.
Failure To Attend
Every year some patients continue to fail to attend for appointments. This not only wastes time but prevents other patients from being seen. If you are unable to keep your appointment, please let us know so that your appointment can be offered to another patient.
Data Protection
The practice is bound by law to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and every effort is made to ensure that information is held with strict confidentiality and security.
Freedom of Information - Publication Scheme
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the practice to produce a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the ‘classes’ of information the practice intends to routinely make available. Reception can give more information on this.
Due to the increase in the number of patients who fail to attend, the practice has adopted the policy that a patient will be removed from the list should they continue to miss appointments and not cancel them in advance without good reason.
Primary Care Trust
This practice lies in the area governed by Bedfordshire Primary Care Trust. They can be contacted by telephone on 01525 631153, or you can write to them at 1 Doolittle Mill, Froghall Road, Ampthill, Beds, MK45 2NX.
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