PATIENT FEEDBACK AND COMPLAINTS
We seek to provide a high quality psychiatric service and are always pleased to receive patient feedback.
You can email us : admin@edinburghadultpsychiatry.co.uk or phone 0131 364 4758
If you are unhappy with the facilities or services you have received from this practice or from the practitioner looking after you we would like to know about it as soon as possible so we can investigate your concerns and take positive action where necessary.
In most circumstances, if you tell us about your concern quickly, we can resolve matters straightaway. To let us know about something with which you are unhappy, please phone or email us in the first instance, we will then pass this matter on to the Medical Director.
If you are not fully satisfied you can put your concerns in writing and use our formal Complaint Resolution Procedure which meets with the requirements set out by the Independent Doctors Federation (IDF) for its members and, also, the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS).
Complaints should normally be made as soon as possible at stage 1, and within 6 months from the date of the event complained about, or within 6 months of the matter coming to the attention of the complainant. The time limit may be extended by the IHP where the complainant has good reason for not making a complaint in the time limit (for example, where a complainant has been grieving), and there is a realistic opportunity of conducting a fair and effective investigation into the issues raised.
The Complaint Resolution Procedure has three stages and reflects the principles of the ISCAS Code of Practice:
- Stage 1 Local resolution within the individual practice
- Stage 2 IDF Complaint Resolution Procedure to review the complaint
- Stage 3 Independent Adjudication from ISCAS
STAGE 1
To start the formal Complaint Resolution Procedure, you should write to:
Edinburgh Adult Psychiatry,
5 South Charlotte Street
Edinburgh EH2 4AN
You should state what has caused you to have concerns and make your points clear. Please document when the relevant events took place and what results you expect from your complaint. The Practice (Edinburgh Adult Psychiatry) will send you an acknowledgement of your letter within three working days of receipt of the complaint (unless the practice is able to provide you with a full response within five days). A full response to your complaint will be made within twenty days of the receipt of the complaint. If the investigation is still in progress after twenty days, a letter will be sent to you explaining the delay and a full response made within five days of reaching a conclusion. In any event, a holding letter will be sent every twenty days where an investigation is continuing.
If you remain dissatisfied following the final response from the practice, then you can request a review of your complaint, known as Stage 2, by writing to:
IDF CEO
The Medical Society of London
Lettsom House
11 Chandos Street
Marylebone
London, W1G 9EB
STAGE 2
The IDF Complaint Resolution Procedure will consider your complaint and will undertake a review of the documentation, any correspondence and the handling of the complaint at Stage 1. The Chief Executive Officer will write to you according to the IDF procedures and in any event within twenty days to either confirm the outcome at Stage 1 or to offer an alternative resolution. At this time, the IDF will advise you of your right to take the matter further to Independent Adjudication known as ISCAS and Stage 3 in these procedures.
Throughout the process, all information, documents and records relevant to your complaint will be treated in the strictest confidence and no information will be divulged to any parties who are not involved in the IDF Complaint Resolution Procedure, unless required to do so by law.
STAGE 3
This stage is only available to complainants who remain dissatisfied once Stage 1 and Stage 2 are exhausted. A complainant should then request the Adjudication by writing to the Secretariat:
Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS)
Care of CEDR - Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution International Dispute Resolution Centre
70 Fleet Street
London,
EC4Y 1EU
Tel: 0207 536 6091 Email: info@iscas.org.uk
This written request for adjudication must be made within 6 months of the final determination by the IDF at Stage 2. The complainant at Stage 3 should provide reasons to explain the dissatisfaction with the outcome of Stage 2. The ISCAS Secretariat will seek confirmation from the IDF that Stage 2 has been completed. The ISCAS Secretariat will notify the IDF of a request for Stage 3 made directly within ten days. The Secretariat will then be the main contact for the complainant once Adjudication is started. A complainant accessing this service will be asked to consent to release of records from the practice and the IDF relevant to the complaint and a report will be made to the complainant, the practice and the IDF.
Additional information for patients about ISCAS can be found at:
http://www.iscas.org.uk/patients-complaints-process
HEALTHCARE IMPROVEMENT SCOTLAND
If complaining to the service or ISCAS is not possible or does not resolve the situation or if the complainant would prefer to talk to someone different, complaints can be made in writing, by phone or in person to Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s independent healthcare complaints manager, Tracy Birch.
Programme Manager | Independent Healthcare
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
Gyle Square
1 South Gyle Crescent
Edinburgh, EH12 9EB
Email: hcis.ihcregulation@nhs.scotTelephone: 0131 623 4701
More information can be found at:
http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/about_us/contact_us/idoc.ashx?docid=028b0399-46ce