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Patients are being kept in the dark about their right to independent complaints, reports Charles Davey
- Many GP practices are failing to inform patients of their legal right to have complaints investigated independently by Integrated Care Boards, effectively limiting accountability.
- Oversight bodies are not adequately enforcing complaints regulations, leaving a system that is complex, poorly monitored and often unsatisfactory for patients.
Patients are seldom quick to make a claim or complaint against their general practitioner (GP) and risk undermining that crucial patient/doctor relationship. We and our families all need to turn for help to our GP, if not on a regular basis, then at some point in our lives. In rural areas, changing to a different GP practice is often wholly impractical.
Whether a client considering a medical negligence claim against their GP has already made a complaint, or is considering doing so, it is important to understand just how the complaint system is working in practice, and often not working. In many cases (perhaps
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