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.

Complaints may be received either verbally or in writing.  If a complaint is made verbally every effort will be made to resolve the complaint immediately by senior manager and /or senior clinician on site, a record of the complaint and actions taken will be recorded and will be forwarded to the Complaints Manager.  To make a complaint in writing either email: gmicb-bol.kmc@nhs.net or complete a complaints form from the surgery.

If a complaint is made in writing or is a verbal complaint that has not been resolved immediately, it will be forwarded to the complaints manager (or the lead GP if the complaints manager is unavailable) who will aknowlege the complaint in 3 working days, or as soon as reasonably practical.  The complaint will be investigated by the complaints manager and written response to the patient, as soon as reasonably practicable ensuring that the patient is kept up to date with progress as appropriate. Where a response is not possible within 15 working days we will provide an update report to the patient with an estimate of the timescale. 

What happens if I prefer to complain directly to the commissioning organisation? 

If your complaint is about primary care services such as GPs, dentists, opticians or pharmacy services, you should contact Greater Manchester ICB.   

Details of how to do this can be found at the following website, under the ‘Local area feedback and complaints’ section:

https://gmintegratedcare.org.uk/have-your-say/contact-us/

• From 1 July 2023 the way members of the public make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner is changing. Rather than contacting NHS England, complaints will be made to directly to the local integrated care board (ICB). 
• NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre will still deal with general enquiries from patients, such as ‘how do I get a GP or Dentist’. For such general enquiries, patients can still call 0300 311 22 33.

• Members of the public will still be able to make a complaint to the provider. This is NOT changing.

• Members of the public with ongoing complaints received on/after 1 July 2022 will receive a letter from NHS England informing them that the ICB is now handling their complaint with confirmation of their case handler.

• Members of the public with any ongoing complaints received before 1 July 2022 will receive a letter from NHS England informing them that their complaint is being retained by NHS England with confirmation of their case handler. 
• Find out more about how to feedback or make a complaint about an NHS service

Local area feedback and complaints

For all other advice or complaints, please contact your local area feedback and complaints team:

Bolton

Governance and Safety,
Bolton – NHS GM,
Lever Chambers
27 Ashburner Street
Bolton, BL1 1SQ

Email:                                                            Call: 01204 462 022
gmicb-bol.pals@nhs.net                                           01204 462 023

Your feedback is essential to help us see how effective our service is and give us information to plan for the future.   The Friends and Family Test (FFT) is an important opportunity for you to provide feedback to the practice.   This information helps us to see what we are doing well and where we need to make improvements. 

One way we are doing this is by using SMS messaging. We will send out text messages weekly to people who have recently used our services with a link to the FFT online form.   The text will go to patients who are 16 or over, have supplied a valid mobile phone number, and had an appointment recorded by us within the previous week by a team with a FFT code aligned to it. Patients can opt out of receiving the text messages. 

You may prefer to fill out a form online for this.  Please complete in the box next to this paragraph.

You are encouraged to provide your feedback as soon as possible, so your experience of our care is still fresh in your mind. This helps us to ensure that the feedback we collect is accurate and in 'real time'. 

Your comments and suggestions are important to us, please email any suggestions or ideas to gmicb-bol.kmc@nhs.net.  Or alternatively pop into surgery and ask to feedback to a manager.

Medical matters and official complaints cannot be dealt with via this form. If you have a query regarding a medical matter please telephone reception to make an appointment to see the appropriate person.