Complaints

We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.

However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

If you have decided to make a complaint around the care or service you have received we would really like to put this right straight away.  If this is the case please ask to speak to the Practice Patient Manager.

If you feel that your complaint cannot be resolved this way you will need to send a formal complaint to the surgery addressed to the Complaints Manager, Ruth Matthews outlining your complaint.  Once we have received your complaint, you will receive an acknowledgement letter, and the next steps.  We aim to respond to all complaints within 30 working days. Once you have received your response,  If you are not satisfied that your complaint has been resolved following this you can appeal to the ombudsman as below.  These details will also be included in your response:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4QP; Tel: 0345 015 4033; Fax; 0300 061 400

If you feel you do not want to raise your complaint directly with the surgery, you can make your complaint through Pals (Patient Advice Liaison Service) 01782 676453 or the ICB  (Integrated Care Board) 0300 123 1461.

Compliments

We are always keen to hear if a service is working really well or you have experienced exceptional service or care from a staff member, please contact our Reception Manager Ruth Matthews or our Primary Care Operations Manager Jane Millward who will feed this back to the team.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

The Primary Care Trust has a PALS service that provides on the spot confidential advice and support. Telephone 0800 389 8832 Monday to Friday 8:30am – 4.30pm. An answerphone service is available out of office hours – please leave a message if no-one is available to take your call and PALS will get back to you.The PALS team are based at:

Fenton Health Centre,
Glebedale Road,
Fenton,
ST4 3AQ

The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.

You do not require a doctor’s sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

Your employer can ask you to confirm that you’ve been ill. You can do this by filling in a form yourself when you return to work. This is called self-certification.

If you’re sick and off work for more than seven days, your employer will probably ask for proof of your illness. Most employers ask for a FIT (Sick) note from your GP. You can apply for this online using this link

However, this will also depend on your employer’s company policy on sick leave (or sickness absence). This policy should tell you how many days you can be off sick before you need to provide proof of illness or a fit note.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

We value your opinion and feedback, please complete our Friends and Family Survey in surgery. For more information please ask at reception.

New online survey coming soon

Loomer Road Surgery

The mean earnings for GP’s working at Loomer Road Surgery in the financial
year ended 31st March 2022 was £71,433 before deduction of employees
superannuation contributions, tax and National Insurance. This is the
average pay for 14 part-time GP’s who worked in the practice for more than
6 months during that year.

Haymarket Health Centre

The mean earnings for GP’s working at Haymarket Health Centre in the
financial year ended 31st March 2022 was £55,433 before deduction of employees
superannuation contributions, tax and National Insurance. This is the
average pay for 2 part-time GP’s who worked in the practice for 6 months or
more during that year.