Code of Practice for Patient Complaints

At Hale Health we take complaints very seriously. When patients complain, they are dealt with courteously and promptly, and in a caring and sensitive way, so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible. Our complaints procedure follows best practice guidelines for our industry.

Our aim is to react to complaints in the way in which we would want our complaint about a service to be handled. If we are at fault, then we will be open and honest about any mistakes made.

  1. The person responsible for dealing with any complaint about the service which we provide Dr Emma Cunningham, CEO of Hale Health Limited.
  2. If a patient complains on the telephone or in person at our clinic premises, we will listen to their complaint and offer to refer him or her to the CEO immediately. If the CEO is not available at the time, then the patient will be informed when they will be able to talk to the CEO and arrangements will be made for this to happen. The member of staff will take brief details of the complaint and pass them on to the CEO. If we cannot arrange this within a reasonable period or if the patient does not wish to wait to discuss the matter, arrangements will be made for someone else within Hale Health to deal with it.
  3. If the patient complains in writing or by email, it will be passed on immediately to the CEO, Dr Emma Cunningham.
  4. If a complaint is about any aspect of clinical care or associated charges our CEO will normally discuss the issue with whichever clinician treated the patient (or to the relevant member of staff if the complaint is about any of our non-clinical staff).
  5. We will acknowledge the patient’s complaint in writing and enclose a copy of this code of practice within three working days.
  6. We will seek to investigate the complaint within ten working days of receipt to give an explanation of the circumstances which led to the complaint. If the patient does not wish to meet us, then we will attempt to talk to them on the telephone. If we are unable to investigate the complaint within ten working days we will notify the patient, giving reasons for the delay and a likely period within which the investigation will be completed.
  7. We will confirm the decision about the complaint in writing immediately after completing our investigation.
  8. Proper and comprehensive records are kept of any complaint received as well as any actions taken to improve services as a consequence of a complaint.
  9. If patients are not satisfied with the result of our procedure then a complaint may be made to:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP. Telephone: 0345 015 4033 Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk

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