Complaint Resolution Procedure at Vitalis Health

If you are unhappy with the facilities or services you have received from this practice or from the doctor looking after you, we would like to know about it as soon as possible so we can investigate your concerns and explain, apologise and take positive action where necessary. 

In most circumstances, if you tell us about your concern quickly, we can resolve matters straightaway. 

To let us know about something with which you are unhappy please ask to speak with Dr Siobhan Graham in the first instance.

If you are not fully satisfied you can put your concerns in writing and use our formal Complaint Resolution Procedure which meets with the requirements set out by the Independent Doctors Federation (IDF) for its members and also the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS).

The Process

The Complaint Resolution Procedure has three stages and reflects the principles of the ISCAS Code of Practice:

Stage 1 Local resolution within the individual practice

Stage 2 IDF Complaint Resolution Procedure to review the complaint

Stage 3 Independent Adjudication from ISCAS

To start the formal Complaint Resolution Procedure you should write to:

Dr Siobhan Graham
Vitalis Health
58 Howard Street
Belfast, BT1 6PJ

You should state what has caused you to have concerns and make your points clear. Please document when the relevant events took place and what results you expect from your complaint. The Practice will send you an acknowledgement of your letter within three working days of receipt of the complaint (unless the practice is able to provide you with a full response within five days).

A full response to your complaint will be made within twenty days of the receipt of the complaint. If the investigation is still in progress after twenty days a letter will be sent to you explaining the delay and a full response made within five days of reaching a conclusion. In any event a holding letter will be sent every twenty days where an investigation is continuing.

If you remain dissatisfied following the final response from the practice, then you can request a review of your complaint, known as Stage 2 by writing to:

Complaint Manager,
The Independent Doctors Federation
Lettsom House
11 Chandos Street
Marylebone
London, W1G 9EB

Please note that stages 2 and 3 fall within the ISCAS Code of Practice for Complaints Management. A copy of this can be obtained from the IDF or from ISCAS.

Attention is drawn to the sections which clearly explain what the Code does and does not cover. You should understand that if the complaint is not covered by the ISCAS code then stages 2 and 3 will not be available.  

The IDF Complaint Resolution Procedure will consider your complaint and will undertake a review of the documentation, any correspondence and the handling of the complaint at Stage 1.

The IDF Complaint Manager will write to you according to the IDF procedures and in any event within twenty days to either confirm the outcome at stage 1 or to offer an alternative resolution.

At this time the IDF will advise you of your right to take the matter further to Independent Adjudication known as ISCAS and stage 3 in these procedures.

Throughout the process all information, documents and records relevant to your complaint will be treated in the strictest confidence and no information will be divulged to any parties who are not involved in the IDF Complaint Resolution Procedure, unless required to do so by law. 

This stage is only available to complainants who remain dissatisfied once Stage 1 and Stage 2 are exhausted.

A complainant should then request the Adjudication by writing to the Secretariat:

Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS)
Care of CEDR - Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution
International Dispute Resolution Centre
70 Fleet Street
London EC4Y 1EU

Tel: 0207 536 6091

Email: info@iscas.org.uk

This written request for adjudication must be made within 6 months of the final determination by the IDF at Stage 2. The complainant at Stage 3 should provide reasons to explain the dissatisfaction with the outcome of Stage 2. The ISCAS Secretariat will seek confirmation from the IDF that Stage 2 has been completed.

The ISCAS Secretariat will notify the IDF of a request for Stage 3 made directly within ten days. The Secretariat will then be the main contact for the complainant once Adjudication is started. A complainant accessing this service will be asked to consent to release of records from the practice and the IDF relevant to the complaint and a report will be made to the complainant, the practice and the IDF.

Additional information for patients about ISCAS can be found at:

http://www.iscas.org.uk/patients-complaints-process

Unacceptable behaviour by complainants