Complaints

If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us know.

We operate a practice complaints procedure as part of a NHS system for dealing with complaints.

What we shall do

We shall acknowledge your complaint within three working days and agree a plan with the person making the complaint about how this will be responded to.

When we look into your complaint, we shall aim to:

• find out what happened and what went wrong
• make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned
• make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate
• identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again by learning from the events

Making a complaint about primary care services

How you make a complaint about primary care services in Northumberland is changing on 1 July 2023. By primary care services we mean GPs, dentists, opticians or pharmacy services.

There are two ways you can make a complaint:

• You can complain to the healthcare provider: this is the organisation where you received the NHS service, for example a GP surgery or dental surgery.
• You can complain to the commissioner of the service: this is the organisation that paid for the service or care you received.

After 1st July 2023 if you want to make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner you will need to contact North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board instead of NHS England.

Read more about how to make a complaint >>

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.