How to complain
We hope that we can sort most problems out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If you wish to make a formal complaint, please do so AS SOON AS POSSIBLE - ideally within a matter of a few days. Although you can make a complaint up to twelve months after the event or after discovering there is something to complain about. This will enable us to establish what happened more easily. You should address your complaint in writing to Pall Mall Medical (you can use the attached form). We will make sure that we deal with your concerns promptly and in the correct way. You should be as specific and concise as possible.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
We keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are not the patient, but are complaining on their behalf, you must have their permission to do so. An authority signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness or infirmity) of providing this. A Third Party Consent Form is provided below.
Where the patient is incapable of providing consent due to illness or accident it may still be possible to deal with the complaint. Please provide the precise details of the circumstances which prevent this in your covering letter. Please note that we are unable to discuss any issue relating to someone else without their express permission, which must be in writing, unless the circumstances above apply.
We may still need to correspond directly with the patient, or may be able to deal directly with the third party, and this depends on the wording of the authority provided.
What we will do
We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to have fully investigated within 20 working days of the date it was received. If we expect it to take longer, we will explain the reason for the delay and tell you when we expect to finish. During the investigation the Complaints Lead will investigate circumstances, suggest an appropriate resolution and take steps to ensure the problem does not arise again. Once the investigation is completed the Complaints Lead will consult the Managing Director and/or Medical Director before the complaint is concluded. Pall Mall Medical’s complaint procedure is an internal two stage process involving an immediate acknowledgement followed by a full investigation and report.
If we have been unable to resolve your complaint, this process will be fully explained in a letter from the Complaints Lead handling your case.
If you are not satisfied with the response of your complaint you have the right to appeal against the decision to another Complaints Lead. You should notify us of your wish to appeal in writing and send it to complaints@pallmallmedical.co.uk (you can use the attached form).
Please fully outline the grounds of your appeal. Your response will be acknowledged within 3 working days by a member of the management team and a different Complaints Lead will review the outcome and provide you with a further response. This may take up to 20 working days. If the investigation process will take any longer than this, you will be updated and advised of the reason. On receiving a further response, should you still not deem the response as satisfactory, you have the right to escalate the matter to ISCAS, with whom you may seek an independent review of the matter.
Complaint Form
A copy of our complaint form is available to download here: Complaint Form - Pall Mall Medical.
If you are unable to download this policy, we can post a copy to you. Please email admin@pallmallmedical.co.uk to arrange this.
Patient Third Party Consent
A copy of our complaint form is available to download here: Patient Third Party Consent Form - Pall Mall Medical.
If you are unable to download this policy, we can post a copy to you. Please email complaints@pallmallmedical.co.uk to arrange this.
