Our Aim
The clinic is committed to providing a high-quality service to all patients and corporate clients: the objective is complete patient satisfaction.
The management team actively encourage feedback from each patient by requesting Trustpilot and Google reviews. Management would wish to know immediately about any problems or complaints so they can be addressed without delay. Corporate client feedback is achieved through dedicated account managers, regular review meetings and online feedback forms
For the purpose of this policy any reference to “corporate client” refers to the representative of the corporate client (e.g. HR manager) or “Purchaser.” Any reference to the “patient” will include individual service users or “Workers”.
Informal Feedback
Informal feedback from patients and clients can be recorded using the (CR661) Informal Feedback Submissions online form. The (CR661) Informal Feedback form will collect feedback submitted to staff via email, phone, email, face-to-face or other.
The Informal Feedback process excludes Google and Trustpilot reviews, formal questionnaire submissions and complaints which are managed and reported separately.
Formal Feedback Collection:
Google & Trust Pilot Reviews
Whitby and Co. provide a weekly summary of patients seen (name and email address).
The marketing team run reports for Fleet Street clinic for patients seen in a two-week period.
The lists are cross referenced against active complaints. The list is shared between the marketing team and reception and kept up to date by reception. The marketing team do send a reminder before the next batch of review emails to ensure patients with an active complaint are not contacted.
The lists are separately uploaded to Mailchimp and the lists are linked to a designated template for either Fleet Street clinic or Whitby and Co patients
Emails are then sent to patients. The marketing team track growth and engagement by month.
Feedback emails are issued to Fleet Street Clinic and Whitby & Co patients following their appointments by the marketing team. Emails will direct patients to either Google or Trustpilot depending on whether the services were delivered by Fleet Street clinic or Whitby and Co.
Google or Trustpilot reviews which attract a rating of 3 stars or less are verified as genuine. The marketing team will report and respond to reviews which cannot be verified. Reviews which originate from verified patients are treated as a complaints/non-conformance (which requires root-cause analysis and corrective actions)
The marketing team will notify the company directors, clinic manager, patient services, and quality manager within 72 hours of receiving the review.
Dissatisfied patients are contacted by the clinic management team who will seek to resolve the issue. If the review relates to a clinical issue the investigating manager may enlist a clinician for support.
A draft response issued on behalf of the company will be approved by the directors prior to posting on Google or Trustpilot.
Complaints which originate from a Google or Trustpilot review are subject to the same escalation process if they cannot be resolved at stage 1.
Corporate Feedback Collection
Feedback is collected from corporate clients according to the type and frequency of services they use and whether they are a patient/service user or a representative of the client (e.g. HR or Wellbeing Manager).
The feedback programme includes the following services: Occupational Health, Seasonal Flu Vaccination and Laboratory Services.
Clients who use our services on an ongoing basis receive an online feedback questionnaire on an annual basis. Clients who use our services on an ad hoc basis receive an online feedback questionnaire following the service.
Review & Distribution Of Feedback
A review will be carried out at least twice a year and a summary provided to the Senior Management at the Management Review Meeting. The policy will be reviewed alongside any statistics, the status of non-conformances, adherence to this policy and compliance with recommended actions.
A weekly summary of feedback received is collated by the marketing team. Feedback is then distributed to the wider organisation by email.
Informal Complaints
If a client has a complaint or is dissatisfied with the service received, they should inform a member of the front of house team before leaving the premises. The team will do their best to resolve the situation informally before the patient leave the Clinic.
If a corporate client has a complaint or is dissatisfied with the service received, they should inform the dedicated Account Manager as soon as possible. The Account Manager will do their best to resolve the situation informally.
Formal Complaints
If the client is not satisfied with the outcome of the informal complaint management, they can put their concerns in writing and use the clinic’s formal Complaint Resolution Procedure which meets with the requirements set out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), other relevant professional bodies (such as General Medical Council (GMC)/Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)) and the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS).
The formal complaint will be logged internally as a Non-conformance, please refer to – Non- conformance, Corrective Actions & opportunities for improvement policy (CR507).
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 Objective Complaint Review
Stage 3 Independent Adjudication from ISCAS
Formal complaints should be made in writing, as soon as possible at stage 1, and within 6 months of the event relating to the complaint, or the matter coming to the client’s attention for the complaint to be investigated.
Stage 1
To start the formal Complaint Resolution Procedure, a written complaint should be addressed to:
Mrs Sandeep Karavadra
The Clinic Manager
29 Fleet Street, London,
EC4Y 1AA
The client should clearly state what has caused their concerns. If a complaint is regarding a member of staff, the client should provide the staff members name and position (if this information is available).
Within the complaint the client should document when the relevant events took place, what action they have taken (if any) and what outcome they expect from the complaint.
The client will be sent an acknowledgement of the complaint within three working days of receipt (unless the clinic is able to provide them with a full response within five days).
A full response to the complaint will be made within twenty days of the receipt of the formal complaint. If the investigation is still underway after twenty days a letter will be sent to the client 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.
A formal complaint should be concluded within 3 months’ (unless there are exceptional circumstances which require a longer time frame).
If the client remains dissatisfied following the final response from the Clinic Manager, they can request a review of the complaint, within 6 months of the final response from Stage 1, by writing to:
Mr. Martin Hughes
Legal Counsel
29 Fleet Street, London,
EC4Y 1AA
If the client’s complaint concerns Sandeep Karavadra the client should immediately proceed to Stage 2, by writing to Martin Hughes, Legal Counsel at the address above.
Stage 2
The purpose of Stage 2 is to conduct an objective review of the complaint and the way it was handled at Stage 1. To maintain impartiality the review will be conducted by Martin Hughes, Legal Counsel.
A review of the documentation relevant to the original complaint will be undertaken, the review may include interviews with staff members. The person handling Stage 2 may decide to invite the client to a meeting with the staff member who responded to their complaint at Stage 1.
A written acknowledgement of the Stage 2 complaint will be sent within three working days of the receipt of the complaint.
A full response to the 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 the client 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.
Complaints should be concluded within 3 months’ (unless there are exceptional circumstances which require a longer time frame).
If the client remains dissatisfied following the final response from the clinic, they have the right to refer the matter to an Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Services (Stage 3).
If the complaint concerns Dr Richard Dawood then at stage 2, the complaint may be jointly managed by Martin Hughes and the Independent Doctors Federation (IDF).
Stage 3
This stage is only available to clients who remain dissatisfied once Stage 1 and Stage 2 are exhausted. To request adjudication, the client must write to the Secretariat:
Independent Adjudication Secretariat
Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service
70 Fleet Street,
London, EC4Y 1EU
Email: info@iscas.org.uk
Tel: 020 7536 6091
This written request for adjudication must be made within 6 months’ of the final response to the Stage 2 complaint.
The client should provide reasons to explain their dissatisfaction with the outcome of Stage 2.
ISCAS will seek confirmation from the clinic that Stage 1 and 2 have been completed. ISCAS will notify the clinic of a request for Stage 3 made directly to them within 3 working days. ISCAS will assign an Independent Adjudicator to be the client’s contact once adjudication has started.
The Independent Adjudicator will keep all relevant parties updated with progress, at a minimum, every 20 working days (standard 48). ISCAS aims to complete the majority of its adjudications within 3-6 months, and to complete 98% within a year.
Additional information for clients about ISCAS can be found at: https://iscas.cedr.com/patients/complaints-process/
Confidentiality
Please note that, in the event of a complaint being made, all information, documents and records relevant to the complaint will be treated in the strictest confidence and no information will be divulged to any parties who are not involved in the Complaint Resolution Procedure, unless required to do so by law. The clinic will always work to fully protect your rights and comply with GDPR requirements. More information can be found at:
https://fleetstreetclinic.com/privacy-cookies/
The Care Quality Commission
The clinic is registered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which regulates Health and Adult Social Care Services. The CQC does not investigate complaints but considers relevant information about practices providing regulated activities within the terms of the legislation. They can be contacted at:
CQC National Customer Service Centre
Citygate
Gallowgate
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4PA
Tel: 03000 616161
Email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk
CQC – www.cqc.org.uk
Exclusions
If the client’s complaint concerns the alleged clinical negligence of a doctor, nurse or healthcare professional, this complaint should not progress to stage 2 if the client is dissatisfied with the outcome at stage 1. Instead, it should be dealt with through the legal process and the client should instead be directed to contact the relevant professional regulator.
Our Commitment
An annual review of this Complaints Policy & Procedure is undertaken to ensure the clinic learns from complaints and uses them to improve service where required.
The designated person responsible for monitoring compliance with this Complaints Policy & Procedure: Dr Richard Dawood, Medical Director
Documents referenced:
Clients’ guide to the ISCAS Code, Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service Limited Reg in England & Wales No 07474408 (Published September 2017)
PT773 PT774