Complaints procedure at Regent Street Clinic
Regent Street Clinic has a proud history of offering professional primary care services throughout the UK since 1998. Our values include patient centredness, openness, transparency, honesty, integrity and candour. Our aim is for patients to receive a high quality experience, however, if you have any concerns about our service we would very much like to know. Our reception staff, practice manager and complaints manager will be happy to help. In the majority of cases, concerns can be resolved quite easily. Our aim is to resolve issues amicably and to apologise for any distress caused following a visit to Regent Street Clinic. We genuinely value all of our service users.
Initial concerns should be raised by verbal complaint as follows:
Verbal complaints – in person or by telephone
Every effort will be made to resolve your complaint immediately. However, if your concerns are not resolved to your satisfaction, we will explain how to make a written complaint and what to expect if you do.
Written complaints (by letter or email)
All written complaints should be addressed to the complaints manager at Regent Street Clinic and also the deputy manager, whose details are as follows:
Anna Boothby, RGN
Complaints manager and patient liaison
2 Regent Street, Nottingham NG1 5BQ
Email address: anna@regentstreetclinic.co.uk
The deputy manager is Megan Robinson and her e-mail address is: meganr@regentstreetclinic.co.uk
Your correspondence should include:
1. Who or what has caused you concern
2. Where or when the event took place
3. What action, if any, has already been taken
4. What action you hope your complaint will achieve
5. Whether you consider your complaint is about Regent Street Clinic (the business) or the medical management by a member of our clinical staff (please name), or both.
6. A suitable resolution
The complaints manager will acknowledge receipt of your letter within two (2) working days. If the manager is away, the deputy manager will reply.
The complaints manager will review the complaint to determine in the first instance whether it refers to a problem with the service offered by Regent Street Clinic or whether it relates to the medical management by one of our doctors or nurses, or both.
Complaints relating to the service offered by Regent Street Clinic
If the complaint relates to the service offered by Regent Street Clinic, then this will be investigated by the complaints manager and an initial response will be sent within twenty one (21) working days. If further investigation is needed then the complainant will be kept informed of progress, by e-mail or telephone.
If you are unhappy with the response from the complaints manager, the complaint can be escalated to the medical director, Dr Bobby Ahmed, who will carefully consider the reasons for rejection of the complaints manager’s resolution. Dr Bobby Ahmed will then make every attempt to meet you in person to resolve the matter amicably and fairly.
Complaints relating solely to medical management by an individual doctor or nurse
In cases where the complaint refers to the management of a medical condition by a particular doctor or nurse, the complaint will be passed on to that doctor or nurse via the complains manager. They will then be responsible for responding to the complaint via the complaints manager. The complaints manager should acknowledge receipt of the complaint within two (2) days. The complaints manager and the clinician who is the subject of the complaint will discuss the matter with our medical Director, Dr Bobby Ahmed, with the option to also consult the clinician’s professional indemnity insurance provider, before producing a full response. Indemnity insurance organisations can take up to six weeks to reply, therefore you can expect a response within forty two (42) days, although the average response tine is within twenty one (21) days.
In some cases Dr Bobby Ahmed or the indemnity organisations may wish to make contact with the patient themselves. Dr Bobby Ahmed will make every attempt to meet you in person to resolve the matter amicably and fairly.
Regent Street Clinic will endeavour to expedite this process throughout but is necessarily limited in its ability to influence the time taken by third parties, however we will do our best to keep complainants informed of progress.
All correspondence relating to the complaint will be copied to the complaints manager while ensuring that information is only shared with relevant persons within Regent Street Clinic, to ensure patient confidentiality.
Regent Street Clinic medical team comprises fully qualified, highly trained and experienced doctors and nurses who follow clearly defined practice policies and procedures which have passed Care Quality Commission inspection.
Regent Street Clinic has systems in place for the regular review and audit of our medical team.
Regent Street Clinic takes all complaints about a member of our medical team in their employment seriously. We will review their overall performance and recommend further training where indicated. We will also reflect on each complaint and the lessons learned from the complaint to avoid the situation recurring. We will implement changes, such as recommending additional training to other doctors or nurses working for us, where necessary. Decisions about doctors’ or nurses’ on-going employment are made by our management team and influenced by the recommendation of our complaints manager.
Any allegations specifically and solely against an individual doctor or nurse are the responsibility of that doctor or nurse, however the medical director at Regent Street Clinic, Dr Bobby Ahmed, will play a conciliatory role aimed at resolving the complaint amicably and fairly.
Any serious professional allegations about a member of our medical team’s fitness to practice should be directed to our complaints manager in the first instance or alternatively, directly to the General Medical Council at www.gmc.org-uk in the case of a doctor, or the Nursing and Midwifery Council at www.nmc.org.uk in the case of a nurse.
Our doctors work solely in private practice and are connected members of the Independent Doctors Federation (IDF) and are therefore subject to the IDF complaints procedure as detailed on the IDF website.
