Information guide How to make a complaint
How you can comment, compliment or complain about your treatment or service We are committed to providing you with the best service possible. We are always looking for ways to improve the service and would like to hear your comments, compliments or complaints.
How to contact us If you have a concern or comment about the service you have received from the doctors, nurses, or any of the staff working for Virgin Care, please talk to the staff involved if you are able to. It could be the case it is something that can be resolved quickly and to your satisfaction. However, if you would prefer to talk to someone outside the ward or department please contact our Customer Services Office on 0300 303 9509 or email customerservices@virgincare.co.uk. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint we operate a complaints procedure which is followed throughout the National Health Service. You should let us know about your concerns as soon as possible, ideally, within a matter of days or at most a few weeks. This will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If this is not possible you should let us have the details of your complaint: within six months of the incident that caused the problem; or within six months of discovering that you have a problem, provided that no more than 12 months has elapsed from the date of the incident. Written complaints should be addressed to the customer service manager who will make sure
that your concerns are dealt with promptly. It will be a great help if you are as specific as possible about your complaint. Customer Services Manager Virgin Care Bournewood House Guildford Road Chertsey Surrey KT16 0QA How do I complain on behalf of someone else? If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have their permission to do so. Consent signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (because of illness or disability) of providing this. What happens next? We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days. If we cannot offer a full explanation at this stage we will contact you to agree a reasonable timescale for a full response. For instance, it may take longer to investigate a complaint that involves a number of issues. We will keep you updated throughout any investigation and when it is complete we will be in a position to offer you
an explanation or a meeting with the people involved. When we look into your complaint we aim to: find out what happened and what went wrong; arrange for you to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like us to do so; make sure you receive an apology where this is appropriate; and identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again. If you would like to meet to discuss your concerns we would be more than happy to arrange an appointment either at your home, or elsewhere if you would prefer. NHS Complaints Advocacy Service The NHS Complaints Advocacy Service is a free, independent and confidential service that can help you make a complaint about any NHS treatment. This service can help you to understand the NHS Complaints process and assist in making a complaint about your issues. If you do not feel comfortable making a complaint by yourself, or you need support at
any point during the complaints process, this service can give you that support by: Supporting you with your NHS complaint Providing a self-help pack Meeting with you Putting you in touch with other people who can help Involve an interpreter or arrange translation There are a number of organisations nationwide offering complaints advocacy; please contact the Customer Services Office for details of advocacy services in your locality. What happens if I am not satisfied with the response from Virgin Care? We welcome your feedback and hope that if you have experienced a problem you will use our complaints procedure. We believe that this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong. However, if you are not satisfied with our response you can telephone the Ombudsman s office on 0345 015 4033 or write to:
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman 11th Floor Millbank Tower London SW1P 4QP www.ombudsman.org.uk Patient confidentiality Virgin Care adheres strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality.
Who to contact Virgin Care Limited Bournewood House Guildford Road Chertsey Surrey KT16 0QA t: 0300 303 9509 e: customerservices@virgincare.co.uk www.virgincare.co.uk