• Did the GP or Nurse look after you well?
• Were our staff helpful and courteous?
• Did the Medical Centre meet your expectations?

Henfield Medical Centre is always looking for ways to improve the services it offers to patients. To do this effectively, the practice needs to know what you think about the services you receive. Tell us what we do best as well as where we don’t meet your expectations plus any ideas and suggestions 
you may have. Only by listening to you can the practice continue to build and improve upon the 
service it offers.

If you make a complaint it is practice policy to ensure you are not discriminated against, or subjected to any negative effect on your care, treatment or support.

Tell us about our service 
If you would like to leave a comment, please contact us by emailing: sxicb-wsx.henfield.complaints@nhs.net 
 
Making a complaint 
In the first instance, please discuss your complaint with the staff member concerned. Where the  issue cannot be resolved, please contact the Complaints Team, who will try to resolve the issue and offer you further advice on the complaints procedure. If your problem cannot be resolved at this stage and you wish to make a formal complaint, please let us know as soon as possible, ideally within a matter of days. This will enable the practice to get a clear picture of the circumstances surrounding the complaint. 

If it is not possible to raise your complaint immediately, please let us have details of your complaint within 6 months of the initial incident or within 6 months from when the complaint comes to your notice.

The Practice will acknowledge your complaint within three working days. 

When the practice looks into your complaint it aims to: 

• Ascertain the full circumstances of the complaint
• Make arrangements for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like this
• Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate
• Identify what the practice can do to make sure the problem does not happen again. 

Complaining on behalf of someone else 

Please note that the Henfield Medical Centre keeps strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, the practice needs to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be required, unless they are incapable of providing this due to illness or disability. 

Complaining to other authorities 
The Complaints and Management teams hope that if you have a problem with the service you have received, that you will use the Practice Complaints Procedure and discuss the matter with us in the first instance. However, if you feel you cannot raise your complaint with us, you can contact the 
following official body:  NHS England 

Ombudsman & ICAS 
The Advocacy Service for NHS complaints is a national service that supports people who want to make a complaint about their NHS Care or treatment. Your local service can be found on POhWER - NHS Complaints Advocacy | POhWER

Ombudsman 
If you have not received a satisfactory response from the practice, your local Integrated Commissioning Board, or NHS England, you can then refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman who investigates complaints about the NHS in England. 
You can call the Ombudsman’s Complaints Helpline on: 0345 015 4033 
Contact the Ombudsman online  ​Contact us | Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)

Healthwatch 
Healthwatch are independent national champions for people who use health and social care services. They are interested in the views and experiences of patients and what improvements they think could be made. 
Tel: 0300 0120 122 
Visit the Healthwatch Sussex website Home | Healthwatch Westsussex

To view this information in a PDF format, please click on link Complaints and Comments Leaflet