We are continually looking to turn patient feedback into real improvements in the services we provide. We use it to focus on the things that matter most to our patients, carers and their families.
Giving Feedback
To provide feedback:
- fill out a feedback form
- take part in the Friends and Family Test
- speak to a member of staff
- leave a review on our Facebook page
Go Green – Our Environment
We agree we have an impact on the environment around us and must make changes. We will be bold, ambitious and encourage you to challenge us.
We must act now to protect our planet. Our climate crisis is a health crisis and is affecting us now.
Give us go green feedback.
Making a Complaint
At Brook Square Surgery, we are committed to providing high-quality care and a positive experience for all our patients. However, we recognise that there may be occasions when we do not meet your expectations.
If you are unhappy with any aspect of the care or service you have received, we encourage you to let us know. Your feedback is important to us and helps us understand what has happened, address your concerns and identify opportunities to improve our services.
Where possible, we encourage you to raise your concerns with the member of staff involved or the Practice Manager, as many issues can be resolved quickly and informally.
If you wish to make a formal complaint, we ask that you do so as soon as possible after the event. Although complaints can usually be investigated more effectively when they are raised promptly, the time limit for making a complaint is normally:
- Within 12 months of the incident occurring; or
- Within 12 months of becoming aware that there was cause for complaint.
If your complaint falls outside these timescales, we may still be able to investigate depending on the circumstances.
Who Can Make a Complaint?
If you are a registered patient, you may make a complaint about your own care or treatment.
If you wish to complain on behalf of another person, we will usually require their written consent before we can discuss their care or investigate the complaint. Where a patient lacks capacity to provide consent, we will consider each case individually and act in accordance with the relevant legislation and NHS guidance.
What Happens Next?
Once we receive your complaint, we will acknowledge it within three working days and explain how we will investigate your concerns. We aim to agree a response timescale with you based on the complexity of your complaint and will keep you updated if our investigation takes longer than expected.
Our investigation may include reviewing your medical records, speaking with the staff involved, reviewing relevant documentation and considering any additional information you provide. Once the investigation is complete, we will write to you explaining our findings, the outcome of your complaint, any learning identified and any actions taken where appropriate.
How to Contact Us
Please send your complaint to:
Practice Manager
Brook Square Surgery
Trafalgar House
41–44 Trafalgar Street West
Scarborough
YO12 7AS
Telephone: 01723 360098
Or complete a feedback form.
If you require this information in an alternative format, such as large print, Easy Read or another language, please let us know and we will be happy to help.
Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else
We take patient confidentiality very seriously and are committed to protecting your personal information.
If you wish to make a complaint on behalf of another person, we will usually need their written consent before we can discuss their care or investigate the complaint. This is to ensure that we comply with our legal and professional duties of confidentiality.
A Third-Party Consent Form is available from reception. You may also provide your own written authority, provided it clearly confirms that the patient has given permission for you to act on their behalf.
If the patient is unable to provide consent because they lack capacity or have died, we will consider each case individually and act in accordance with the relevant legislation and NHS guidance. We may ask you to provide additional information to confirm your authority to act on the patient’s behalf.
In some circumstances, we may need to correspond directly with the patient or seek further clarification before we are able to share information with a third party.
If you are unsure whether you can make a complaint on someone else’s behalf, please contact the Practice Manager, who will be happy to advise you.
Confidentiality
All complaints must be treated in the strictest confidence.
Where the investigation of the complaint requires consideration of the patient’s medical records, the practice manager must inform the patient or person acting on his or her behalf if the investigation will involve disclosure of information contained in those records to a person other than the practice or an employee of the practice.
The surgery must keep a record of all complaints and copies of all correspondence relating to complaints but such records must be kept separate from the patient’s medical records.
The surgery has an annual review of complaints received within the year and the learning issues or changes to procedures which have arisen are documented.