Comments, Concerns and Complaints - A guide for patients

This guide explains what to do if you have a comment, concern or complaint about any aspect of our service. The quality of our service is important to us; we would like to hear from you. We will do everything we can to make sure that you receive the best standards of care.

Talk to us

We always aim to provide you with the very best in quality and care. Sometimes we may not achieve this or meet your expectations. Should this happen, we will try our best to put things right and to learn from your comments, concerns or complaints and try to make sure that the same thing does not happen again. We treat all comments, concerns and complaints seriously and aim to resolve them as quickly and as fully as we can.

Please talk to us.

What if I am concerned about the treatment or care received?

If you are unhappy about the care or treatment you or a family member has received, please ask to speak to the person in charge. They may be able to resolve the matter straight away.

What if I am not satisfied with the initial response to my concerns?

You can contact the Customer care team using the following contact details:

Customer Care Team

Alliance medical Limited

First Floor, The Woods,

Opus 40 Business Park,

Warwick CV34 5AH

Email: customercare@alliance.co.uk

Internal complaints process

Stage 1

‍Your complaint will be investigated by the appropriate service manager.

We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and aim to have investigated your complaint fully within 20 working days of the date it was raised. Where this is not possible, we will keep you informed of progress on a regular basis.

Stage 2

If you are unhappy with the response you receive, your complaint will be escalated to the Head of Service/Director for Quality and Risk for further investigation.

Raising a concern on behalf of someone else

If you wish to raise a concern on behalf of someone else, in order to comply with the Data Protection Act, we will require written consent from them for their information to be shared with you.

Confidentiality

When we look into your complaint, we may need to refer to your health records. If you do not wish us to do this, please advise us but this may limit our ability to deal with your complaint.

Is there a time limit for when I can raise a concern?

You should contact us as soon as you can and within a maximum of twelve months of the event that has led to your concerns.

What is PALS?

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) is a confidential NHS service that gives advice and support to patients, carers and their relatives about healthcare and other services. Where your scan procedure takes place at an NHS site, the PALS team can talk to us on your behalf. You can find more information and local PALS contacts at www.nhs.uk.

External complaints process

NHS Patients

‍If your care was funded by the NHS and you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you may request an external review from the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). The Ombudsman will generally only agree to review your complaint if they feel you have exhausted all other attempts to directly resolve your complaint with us.

You can contact the Ombudsman helpline for advice through writing, telephoning or visiting their website.

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Millbank Tower

21 Millbank

Westminster

London SW1P 4QP

Tel: 0345 015 4033

Web: www.ombudsman.org.uk

Patients funded other than through the NHS:

If you are not happy with how we deal with your complaint through stage 1 and 2, you can contact the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS)

Postal Address:

70 Fleet Street,

London EC4Y 1EU

Tel: 020 7536 6091

Web: www.iscas.org.uk

Independent Local Health watch

If you would like to share your experience of our health and care service, or if you have a question on health and social care related matters, get in touch with your local Healthwatch.

Tel: 03000 68 3000

Email: enquiries@healthwatch.co.uk

Web: www.healthwatch.co.uk