Complaints policy
If something has gone wrong, we would rather hear it from you than not hear it at all. This is the whole policy, and it is short on purpose.
Tell us
Speak to whoever you are with at the time, if you feel able to — a good proportion of complaints are resolved on the spot. If not, contact Aileen Sutherland, our Practice Manager, on 0131 526 4180 or at hello@ravelstonhealth.co.uk. You can complain in person, by phone, by email or by letter, and you do not have to put it in writing if you would rather not.
What happens then
- We acknowledge your complaint within three working days and tell you who is handling it.
- We investigate. That usually means reading the record, speaking to the people involved, and speaking to you.
- We reply in full within twenty working days. If it is going to take longer, we tell you why and give you a date.
- Our reply sets out what we found, what we got wrong if anything, what we are changing, and what we cannot agree with and why.
If you are not satisfied
You can ask for the complaint to be reviewed by Dr Elspeth Rankin as Clinical Director, if she was not involved in the original response.
Beyond that, you can raise it with Healthcare Improvement Scotland, which regulates independent clinics in Scotland, referring to our service number IS-3184. Complaints about an individual clinician's professional conduct can also go to the relevant regulator — the General Medical Council for doctors, the Nursing and Midwifery Council for nurses, or the Health and Care Professions Council for physiotherapists.
Complaining does not affect your care
It does not, and if you ever feel otherwise, tell Dr Rankin directly. Every complaint is discussed at the monthly clinical governance meeting, anonymised where appropriate, and the changes that come out of them are minuted.
Timescale
Please raise a complaint within six months of the event, or within six months of realising there was a problem. We will consider older complaints where there is a good reason for the delay.