We welcome feedback and complaints, and we want to understand your experience in your own words.
We are committed to handling complaints fairly, openly and compassionately, in line with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s NHS Complaint Standards.
On this page:
- How to raise a complaint
- How we handle complaints
- Getting help with writing a complaint
- Using AI to write a complaint
How to raise a complaint
You can raise your concerns directly with us by:
- Asking to speak with the Practice Manager – they will contact you as soon as possible to discuss your concerns and offer advice and support on next steps.
- Verbally passing on your concerns to another member of staff – our receptionists and clinicians are able to take details of your concerns and pass these onto the Practice Manager or other suitable clinician on your behalf.
- Submitting a formal complaint online – our structured complaint form will help you to set out your concerns clearly and explain what you would like to happen next.
- Submitting an informal feedback form online – our general feedback form allows you to share your thoughts/concerns more generally and informally.
- Submitting a written letter – this can be handed to the receptionist or placed in the external post box.
Please note: submitting a complaint will not guarantee quicker or different treatment. If you have an urgent medical matter, you must contact the Practice in the usual ways.
If you do not feel comfortable complaining to us directly, or you are unhappy with how we have responded to a complaint you have already raised with us, you can escalate it to the commissioner:
Contact: NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB)
Email: glicb.pals@nhs.net
Phone: 0800 0151 548
Address: Shane Devlin, Chief Executive Officer, NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, Shire Hall, Westgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 2TG [1]
How we handle complaints
Complaints are screened on receipt to identify if any immediate action is required in order to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of the patient or any other person involved.
We aim to write to patients to acknowledge receipt of complaints within 7 days.
Where appropriate, we will contact the patient to discuss their concerns in further detail before commencing an internal investigation.
We aim to complete internal investigations and respond, in writing, to the patient within 40 days (in line with NHS best practice guidance).
If a complaint is considered complex and we feel we require more time to investigate it fully, we will contact the patient to inform them of this.
The service we offer the patient during and after the completion of the investigation and the complaint process will not be affected by the complaint.
Details of complaints are held separately and are not recorded in the patient’s medical record to protect the patient from any future prejudice or bias, to preserve the objectivity of clinical findings, treatments and decisions, and to encourage patients to feel safe in raising feedback with us.
Getting help with writing a complaint
The Ombudsman has set out this guidance for patients on how they can go about raising a complaint with a GP practice.
Using AI to write a complaint
Some people choose to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to help write complaints or emails. We understand that these tools can be helpful in organising thoughts or expressing concerns. However, AI-generated text can sometimes:
- include information that is inaccurate or not relevant;
- use overly formal or legal language;
- make complaints longer or more complex than necessary; or
- make it harder for us to clearly understand your personal experience.
This can occasionally delay our review or mean we need to contact you to clarify the details before we can respond fully.
The most helpful complaints are usually clear and concise, and explain:
- what happened;
- when it happened;
- how it affected you; and
- what you would like us to do to resolve the matter.
A short explanation in your own words is often more helpful than a long or highly formal letter.
If you choose to use AI tools, we recommend that you:
- check the wording carefully to ensure it reflects your own experience;
- remove any information that is inaccurate or not relevant; and
- take care when including sensitive personal information.
Please be aware that some AI tools may store or use information entered into them.
For further guidance on using AI to support a complaint, you may find this resource from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman helpful: Using AI tools to help your complaint.
If you need support to make a complaint—for example due to language needs, disability, learning disability, or mental health or communication difficulties—please let us know. We will do our best to support you in a way that works for you