INTRODUCTION

The Human Rights Act 1998 gives legal effect in the UK to the fundamental rights and freedoms contained in the European Convention on Human Rights. These rights not only impact matters of life and death, they also affect the rights you have in your everyday life: what you can say and do, your beliefs, your right to a fair trial and other similar basic entitlements. You have the responsibility to respect other people’s rights, and they must respect yours.

PURPOSE

This Dignity and Respect, Policy sets out our commitment to treating all people with equality & diversity, valuing the diversity of all:

To ensure that staff employed by Beehive Surgery treat patients, the public and colleagues with dignity and respect. The Practice advocates a culture of care that respects the privacy, dignity, culture and individuality of all patients under its care and staff.

To ensure privacy and dignity are fundamental within our core values and governance strategy.

DUTIES

This policy applies to all employees at Beehive Surgery irrespective of profession, grade, position or contract, and any staff contracted to provide a service to Beehive Surgery on a temporary basis.

Members of Staff require support, development and education to ensure that they are appropriately skilled, that in spite of the pressures of the modern NHS they treat individuals with compassion and in a dignified and respectful way.

The Practice Manager has overall responsibility to ensure compliance with this policy, with delegated responsibility being passed to the Team Leaders of each staff group.

It is the responsibility of each staff member to:

Ensure that the privacy and dignity of all patients, members of the public and work colleagues are respected.

Adhere to the principles set out in this policy.

Beehive Surgery expects that all staff support people with the same respect they would want for themselves or a member of their family. People should be treated in a courteous and considerate manner, at all times.

Beehive Surgery expects staff to treat each person as an individual. The attitude and behaviour of managers and staff help to preserve an individual’s identity. Staff should agree with people about how they would like to be addressed. Staff should take the time to assess and understand a person’s individual needs.

Beehive Surgery expects all staff to respect people’s right to privacy. Areas of sensitivity which relate to modesty, gender, culture or religion and basic manners are fully respected.

Beehive Surgery expects all staff to ensure people feel able to complain without fear of retribution. * People have access to the information and advice they need. Members of Staff support people to raise their concerns and complaints with the appropriate person. Concerns and complaints are respected and answered in a timely manner.

Beehive Surgery expects all staff working with patients to assist people to maintain confidence and a positive self-esteem. The care and support provided should encourage individuals to participate as far as they feel able. Care should be aimed to develop the self-confidence of the person receiving services, actively promoting well-being.

Beehive Surgery expects all staff working with patients to act to alleviate people’s loneliness and isolation. Staff should help people receiving services to feel valued as members of the community.

Beehive Surgery expects all staff working with patients to enable people to maintain the maximum possible level of independence, choice and control. People receiving services should be helped to participate as partners in decision-making about the care and support they receive. People should be encouraged and supported to take responsibility for managing their care themselves in conjunction with, when needed, care staff and other information and support services

Beehive Surgery expects all staff working with patients to listen and support people to express their needs and wants. People should be provided with information in a way that enables them to reach agreement

Beehive Surgery expects all staff to engage with family members and carers as care partners. Relatives and carers experience a welcoming ambience and are able to communicate with staff and managers as contributing partners.

It is the responsibility of Line Managers to also ensure that:

Members of Staff have received training / education in interpersonal skills / customer care / communication and/or Dignity and Respect.

They provide a good role model in their own attitude and behaviour.

All systems of care are patient focused and person centered and not task orientated.

Members of Staff are supported to participate in training and service development.

Implement the principles set out in this policy.

Promote and encourage positive attitudes and behaviours within its culture and aim to eliminate the risk of any patients, staff and the general public suffering a negative experience.

Ensure that any problems in relation to standards and guidelines on privacy and dignity in our care of patients is monitored and reported through the incident reporting, complaints or clinical governance processes and for staff, through the human resources procedures.

Promote and support a culture of “zero tolerance” of all forms of abuse.

Beehive Surgery recognises that abuse can take many forms including physical, emotional, financial, sexual, institutional, neglect and discriminatory.

WHY WE NEED AN INFORMATION GOVERNANCE POLICY

The practice handles ever-increasing amounts of information. Timely and accurate information is crucial both for the clinical decision-making and efficient management of services and resources. It plays a key part in clinical governance, service planning and performance management. It is therefore of paramount importance that information is efficiently managed in Beehive Surgery , and that we have appropriate policies and procedures to provide a robust framework for information management.

The Beehive Surgery recognises the need for an appropriate balance between openness and confidentiality in the management and use of information. The practice supports the principles of corporate governance and recognises its public accountability, but equally places importance on confidentiality, the security of personal information about patients and staff. The practice also recognises the need to share patient information with other health organisations and other agencies in a controlled manner consistent with the interests of the patient and, in some circumstances, the public interest.

The reasons for sharing information may include:

Delivery of effective personal care, treatment and advice (for example data sharing agreements between organisations, reviewed in the IG meeting)

Assuring and improving the quality of care, treatment and advice

Monitoring and protecting public health, safety and well being

Risk Management

To avoid duplication of information gathering

Investigating complaints or actual/potential legal claims

Teaching/staff development

To safeguard children and vulnerable adults (refer to Policy for Safeguarding for details of relevant information sharing requirements)

The practice has assigned responsibility for information governance to a team which consists of:

Caldicott Guardian : partner

Information governance lead : Partner

Information governance officer : Practice Manager

Quality assurance officer: Practice Manager

Medical records champions

Patient information champion

The practice believes that accurate, timely and relevant information is essential to deliver the highest quality health care. As such it is the responsibility of all clinicians and managers to ensure the quality of information available in the organisation and to make best use of that information in decision-making.

There are 4 key interlinked strands to the information governance policy:

Openness

Legal compliance

Information security

Quality assurance

1. OPENNESS

There will always be conflict between what is considered to be confidential information and the need to be open to facilitate the smooth management of care and treatment of patients and to maintain the safety of staff. Staff should give careful consideration to how information/data is handled and ensure that any information that is produced, or given to a third party is not in breach of the Data Protection Act

Non-confidential information on the practice and its services is available to the public through the practice website, practice leaflets and via NHS England

The practice have established and maintains a policy to ensure compliance with the Freedom of Information Act

Patients are able to request access to their medical records

The practice has written procedures and arrangements for handling queries and complaints from patients and the public

Our statement on confidentiality & freedom of information with regards to how it affects patients is displayed on our website and included in new patient registration pack

2. LEGAL COMPLIANCE

The practice regards all identifiable personal information relating to patients as confidential

The practice regards all identifiable personal information relating to staff as confidential except where national policy on accountability and openness requires otherwise

The practice has established and maintain policies to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act, Human Rights Act and the common law confidentiality

The practice has established and maintain policies for the controlled and appropriate sharing of patient information with other agencies, taking account of relevant legislation (e.g. Health and Social Care Act, Crime and Disorder Act, Protection of Children Act)

3. INFORMATION SECURITY

The Beehive Surgery ensures that all personal information is kept in a secure environment, where access is controlled, and security measures are in place. This includes electronic capture and storage, manual paper records, video and audio recordings, and any images, however created,

The practice has established and maintain policies for the effective and secure management of its information assets and resources

The practice promotes confidentiality and data security to its staff through policies, procedures and training

The practice has established and maintains a Significant Event reporting procedure and monitors and investigates all reported instances of actual or potential breaches of confidentiality and security

4. INFORMATION QUALITY ASSURANCE

The practice has established and maintains a policy for information quality assurance and the effective management of records. This includes clear protocols for processing, scanning and coding clinical data coming into the practice.

Managers are expected to take ownership of, and seek to improve, the quality of information within their services

Wherever possible, information quality is assured at the point of collection

The practice promotes information quality and effective records management through policies, procedures, staff induction and staff training

PRINCIPLES IN THE USE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION – CALDICOTT GUIDELINES

The purpose of this section is to outline a local code of conduct on the use of confidential information to ensure that patient or personal identifiable data is used and disclosed in an adequate manner according to the Caldicott Principles Data Protection Act and the Freedom of Information Act.

The Practice has appointed a Caldicott Guardian.

All Practice Staff, both clinical and non-clinical must adhere to all Policies and Procedures concerning Information Governance and Confidentiality.

CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY

The practice has a comprehensive confidentiality policy which is mandatory reading for new employees and on the staff reading list.

This policy covers areas including all aspects of communication including verbal, email, written documents, faxing both in and outgoing and post.

It also covers issues relating to working away from the office, and the principles of maintaining confidentiality and management of confidential waste, internet use and maintenance and security of passwords.

The policy refers to relevant legal tools and the practice’s right to monitor use of the internet.

The policy gives staff information of how to report breaches in confidentiality or information governance.

The policy covers user of email, including etiquette, offensive emails and confidentiality.

FIREWALL AND VIRUS PROTECTION 

The Firewall and Virus Protection of the computer system is the responsibility of Greater Manchester Commissioning Support Unit who maintain the Practice IT systems.

ANTIVIRUS

The Internet is a major source of computer viruses the effects of which can range from a minor irritant to a major disaster and all have costs involved in their eradication.

Although the IT network has background antivirus defences it is still essential for users to specifically check files and mail prior to opening. In the event that a user suspects a virus infestation they must stop using that machine, and contact the IT Help Desk.

TRAINING 

All staff will be given training on information governance and confidentiality at induction and as part of the ongoing training schedule. If a member of staff requires further training they will discuss this with their line manager or team leader.

Staff with line management responsibility should ensure that the staff working for them are aware of the above principles and make training available if required.

SECURITY BREACHES

An Information Security incident is defined as any event which has resulted, or could result in: 

the disclosure of confidential information to any unauthorised individual

the integrity of the system or data being put at risk

the availability of the system or information being put at risk

an adverse impact, for example: embarrassment to the NHS; threat to personal safety or privacy; legal obligation or penalty; financial loss; disruption of activities

Types of incidents that should be recorded include:

computer misuse;

computer virus activity

confidentiality breach

records related incident

theft or loss of records

System abuse or infiltration

This list is not exhaustive

INTRODUCTION 

The purpose of this Confidentiality Policy is to lay down the principals that must be observed by all who work at Beehive Surgery and have access to person-identifiable information or confidential information. All members of staff need to be aware of their responsibilities for safeguarding confidentiality and preserving information security.

All employees working in the NHS are bound by a legal duty of confidence to protect personal information they may come into contact with during the course of their work. This is not just a requirement of their contractual responsibilities but also a requirement within the common law duty of confidence and the Data Protection Act 1998. It is also a requirement within the NHS Care Record Guarantee, produced to assure patients regarding the use of their information.

It is important that Beehive Surgery protects and safeguards person-identifiable and confidential business information that it gathers, creates, processes and discloses, in order to comply with the law, relevant NHS mandatory requirements and to provide assurance to patients and the public.

This policy sets out the requirements placed on staff when sharing information within the NHS and between NHS and non NHS organisations.

Person-identifiable information is anything that contains the means to identify a person, e.g. name, address, postcode, date of birth, NHS number and must not be stored on removable media unless it is encrypted as per current NHS Encryption Guidance or a business case has been approved by the Information Governance Manager.

Confidential information within the NHS is commonly thought of as health information; however, it can also include information that is private and not public knowledge or information that an individual would not expect to be shared. It can take many forms including patient level health information, employee records, occupational health records, etc. It also includes Beehive Surgery confidential business information.

Information can relate to patients and staff (including temporary staff), however stored. Information may be held on paper, CD/DVD, USB sticks, computer file or printout, laptops, palmtops, mobile phones, digital cameras or even heard by word of mouth.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

THE PARTNERS

Have overall responsibility for strategic and operational management, including ensuring that Beehive surgery’s policies comply with all legal, statutory and good practice guidance requirements.

THE CALDICOTT GUARDIAN

The Caldicott Guardian is responsible for ensuring implementation of the Caldicott Principles with respect to patient-identifiable information.

INFORMATION GOVERNANCE LEAD

The Information Governance lead will be responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of Information Governance at Beehive surgery and ensure that the Practice complies with supporting the Legal and NHS Mandatory Framework with regards to Information Governance.

The Information Governance lead is responsible for providing advice on request to any member of staff and ensuring that training is provided for all staff groups to further understand the principles and their application.

PRACTICE MANAGER

The Practice manager is responsible for ensuring that the contracts of all staff (permanent and temporary) are compliant with the requirements of the policy and that confidentiality is included in inductions for all staff.

TEAM LEADERS

Team Leaders are responsible for ensuring that the policy and its supporting standards and guidelines are built into local processes and that there is on-going compliance. They must ensure that any breaches of the policy are reported, investigated and acted upon.

ALL STAFF

Confidentiality is an obligation for all staff. Staff should note that they are bound by the Confidentiality: NHS Code of Practice 2003. There is a Confidentiality clause in their contract and that they are expected to participate in induction, training and awareness raising sessions carried out to inform and update staff on confidently issues.

Any breach of confidentiality, inappropriate use of health or staff records, or abuse of computer systems and misuse of smart cards is a disciplinary offence, which could result in dismissal or termination of employment contract, and must be reported.

PRINCIPLES

All members of staff must ensure that the following principles are adhered to:

• Person-identifiable or confidential information must be effectively protected against improper disclosure when it is received, stored, transmitted or disposed of.
• Access to person-identifiable or confidential information must be on a need-to-know basis.
• Disclosure of person identifiable or confidential information must be limited to that purpose for which it is required.
• Recipients of disclosed information must respect that it is given to them in confidence.
• If the decision is taken to disclose information, that decision must be justified and documented.
• Any concerns about disclosure must be discussed with the employee’s Line Manager, Operations Manager or Caldicott Guardian. Information about this process is outlined in the Policy for Whistleblowing.
• Beehive surgery is responsible for protecting all the information it holds and must always be able to justify any decision to share information.
• Person-identifiable information, wherever possible, must be anonymised by removing as many identifiers as possible whilst not unduly compromising the utility of the data.
• Access to rooms and offices where terminals are present or person-identifiable or confidential information is stored must be controlled. Where appropriate doors must be locked with keys, keypads or accessed by swipe card. In mixed office environments measures should be in place to prevent oversight of person-indefinable information by unauthorised parties.
• All staff should clear their desks at the end of each day. In particular they must keep all records containing person-identifiable or confidential information in recognised filing and storage places that are locked.

Unwanted printouts containing person-identifiable or confidential information must be put in a confidential waste bin. Discs, tapes, printout and fax messages must not be left lying around but be filed and locked away when not in use.

BEEHIVE SURGERY

AUGUST 2017

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE 

Introduction 

The purpose of the policy is to ensure that all patients (or their representatives) who have the cause to complain about their care or treatment can have freely available access to the process and can expect a truthful, full and complete response and an apology where appropriate. Complainants have the right not to be discriminated against as the result of making a complaint and to have the outcome fully explained to them. The process adopted in the practice is fully compliant with the relevant NHS Regulations (2009) and guidance available from defence organisations, doctors` representative bodies and the Care Quality Commission. Everyone in the practice is expected to be aware of the process and to remember that everything they do and say may present a poor impression of the practice and may prompt a complaint or even legal action.

The general principle of the practice in respect of all complaints will be to regard it first and foremost as a learning process, however in appropriate cases and after full and proper investigation the issue may form the basis of a separate disciplinary action.  In the case of any complaint with implications for professional negligence or legal action, the appropriate defence organisation must be informed immediately.

Procedure 

Availability of information

The practice will ensure that there are notices advising on the complaints process conspicuously displayed in all reception/waiting areas and that leaflets containing sufficient details for anyone to make a complaint are available without the need to ask. The practice website and any other public material (Practice Leaflet etc.) will similarly provide this information and also signpost the complainant to the help available through the NHS Complaints Advisory Service.

Who can a formal complaint be made to?

ONLY TO – either the practice   -OR -  NHS England

In the event of anyone not wishing to complain to the practice they should be directed to make their complaint to NHSE at:

By telephone: 03003 11 22 33

By email: [email protected]

By post: NHS England, PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT

In those cases where the complaint is made to NHS England, the practice will comply with all appropriate requests for information and co-operate fully in assisting them to investigate and respond to the complaint.

Who can make a complaint?

A complaint can be made by or, with consent, on behalf of a patient (i.e. as a representative); a former patient, who is receiving or has received treatment at the Practice; or someone who may be affected by any decision, act or omission of the practice.

A Representative may also be

• by either parent or, in the absence of both parents, the guardian or other adult who has care of the child; by a person duly authorised by a local authority to whose care the child has been committed under the provisions of the Children Act 1989;  or by a person duly authorised by a voluntary organisation by which the child is being accommodated
• someone acting on behalf of a patient/ former patient who lacks capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (i.e. who has Power of Attorney etc.) or physical capacity to make a complaint and they are acting in the interests of their welfare
• someone acting for the relatives of a deceased patient/former patient

In all cases where a representative makes a complaint in the absence of patient consent, the practice will consider whether they are acting in the best interests of the patient and, in the case of a child, whether there are reasonable grounds for the child not making the complaint on their own behalf.  In the event a complaint from a representative is not accepted, the grounds upon which this decision was based must be advised to them in writing.

Who is responsible at the practice for dealing with complaints?

The practice “Responsible Person” is Dr Vineet Kalhan.  They are charged with ensuring complaints are handled in accordance with the regulations, that lessons learned are fully implemented, and that no Complainant is discriminated against for making a complaint.

The practice “Complaints Manager” is Dr Vibha Gupta Practice manager  and they have been delegated responsibility for managing complaints and ensuring adequate investigations are carried out.  (N.B. they can be the same person but the Responsible Person must be a Partner, who may then delegate the complaints management role to someone else – omit or amend as per practice choice)

Time limits for making complaints

The period for making a complaint is normally:
(a) 12 months from the date on which the event which is the subject of the complaint occurred; or

(b) 12 months from the date on which the event which is the subject of the complaint comes to the complainant’s notice.

The practice has discretion to extend these limits if there is good reason to do so and it is still possible to carry out a proper investigation.  The collection or recollection of evidence, clinical guidelines or other resources relating to the time when the complaint event arose may also be difficult to establish or obtain. These factors may be considered as suitable reasons for declining a time limit extension, however that decision should be able to stand up to scrutiny.

Action upon receipt of a complaint

A) Verbal Complaints:  It is always better to try and deal with the complaint at the earliest opportunity and often it can be concluded at that point. A simple explanation and apology by staff at the time may be all that is required (NB Practices should decide whether this can only be done by senior staff rather than all staff and delete or amend here as appropriate).

A verbal complaint need not be responded to in writing for the purposes of the Regulations if it is dealt with to the satisfaction of the complainant by the end of the next working day, neither does it need to be included in the annual Complaints Return. The practice will however record them for the purposes of monitoring trends or for Clinical Governance and that record will be kept and monitored by Practice manager .Verbal complaints not formally recorded will be discussed when trends or issues need to be addressed and at least annually, with minutes of those discussions kept.

If resolution is not possible, the Complaints Manager will set down the details of the verbal complaint in writing and provide a copy to the complainant within three working days. This ensures that each side is well aware of the issues for resolution. The process followed will be the same as for written complaints.

B) Written Complaints:  On receipt, an acknowledgement will be sent within three working days which offers the opportunity for a discussion (face-to-face or by telephone) on the matter.  This is the opportunity to gain an indication of the outcome the complainant expects and also for the details of the complaint to be clarified. In the event that this is not practical or appropriate, the initial response should give some indication of the anticipated timescale for investigations to be concluded and an indication of when the outcome can be expected.

It may be that other bodies (e.g. secondary care/ Community Services) will need to be contacted to provide evidence. If that is the case, then a patient consent form will need to be obtained at the start of the process and a pro-forma consent form included with the initial acknowledgement for return.

If it is not possible to conclude any investigations within the advised timescale, then the complainant must be updated with progress and revised time scales on a regular basis. In most cases these should be completed within six months unless all parties agree to an extension.

The Investigation

The practice will ensure that the complaint is investigated in a manner that is appropriate to resolve it speedily and effectively and proportionate to the degree of seriousness that is involved.

The investigations will be recorded in a complaints file created specifically for each incident and where appropriate should include evidence collected as individual explanations or accounts taken in writing.

Final Response

This will be provided to the complainant in writing (or email by mutual consent) and the letter will be signed by the Responsible Person or Complaints manager under delegated authority.  The letter will be on headed notepaper and include:

• An apology if appropriate (The Compensation Act 2006, Section 2 expressly allows an apology to be made without any admission of  negligence or breach of a statutory duty)

• A clear statement of the issues, details of the investigations and the findings, and clear evidence-based reasons for decisions if appropriate
• Where errors have occurred, explain these fully and state what has been or will be done to put these right or prevent repetition. Clinical matters must be explained in accessible language
• A clear statement that the response is the final one and the practice is satisfied it has done all it can to resolve the matter at local level
• A statement of the right, if they are not satisfied with the response, to refer the complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,  Millbank Tower, Millbank,  London, SW1P 4QP or visit the ‘Making a complaint page‘  at  https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/make-a-complaint (to complain online or download a paper form).  Alternatively the complainant may call the PHSO Customer Helpline on 0345 015 4033 from 8:30am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday or send a text to their ‘call back’ service: 07624 813 005

The final letter should not include:

• Any discussion or offer of compensation without the express involvement and agreement of the relevant defence organisation(s)
• Detailed or complex discussions of medical issues with the patient’s representative unless the patient has given informed consent for this to be done where appropriate.

Annual Review of Complaints

The practice will produce an annual complaints report to be sent to the local Commissioning Body (NHSE) and will form part of the Freedom of Information Act Publication Scheme.

The report will include:

• Statistics on the number of complaints received
• The number considered to have been upheld
• Known referrals to the Ombudsman
• A summary of the issues giving rise to the complaints
• Learning points that came out of the complaints and the changes to procedure, policies or care which have resulted

Care must be taken to ensure that the report does not inadvertently disclose and confidential data or lead to the identity of any person becoming known.

Confidentiality
All complaints must be treated in the strictest confidence and the practice must ensure that the patient etc. is made aware of any confidential information to be disclosed to a third party (e.g. NHSE).

The practice must keep a record of all complaints and copies of all correspondence relating to complaints, but such records must be kept separate from patients’ medical records and no reference which might disclose the fact a complaint has been made should be included on the computerised clinical record system.

Unreasonable or Vexatious Complaints

Where a complainant becomes unreasonable or excessively rude or aggressive in their promotion of the complaint, some or all of the following formal provisions will apply and must be communicated to the patient by the Responsible Person in writing:

• The complaint will be managed by one named individual at senior level who will be the only contact for the patient
• Contact will be limited to one method only (e.g. in writing)
• Place a time limit on each contact
• The number of contacts in a time period will be restricted
• A witness will be present for all contacts
• Repeated complaints about the same issue will be refused unless additional material is being brought forward
• Only acknowledge correspondence regarding a closed matter, not respond to it
• Set behaviour standards
• Return irrelevant documentation
• Detailed records will be kept of each encounter

Complaints involving Locums

It is important that all complaints made to the practice regarding or involving a locum (Doctor, Nurse or any other temporary staff) are dealt with by the practice and not passed off to a Locum Agency or the individual locum to investigate and respond. The responsibility for handling and investigating all complaints rests with the Practice.

Locum staff should however be involved at an early stage and be advised of the complaint in order that they can provide any explanations, preferably in writing.  It would not be usually appropriate for any opinions to be expressed by the Practice on Locum staff. Providing their factual account along with any factual account from the practice is the best way to proceed.

The practice will ensure that on engaging any Locum, the Locum Agreement will include an assurance that they will participate in any complaint investigation where they are involved or can provide any material evidence.  The practice will ensure that there is no discrepancy in the way it investigates or handles complaints between any Locum staff and either practice Partners, salaried staff, students or trainees or any other employees.

“Informal complaints” (NB practices may wish to decide if this section is one they wish to adopt)

The collection of data about informal complaints – often referred to as “grumbles” – is a good tool for identifying trends for low-level dissatisfaction with services or the way they are offered to patients.

Staff are encouraged to raise these issues at practice meetings and in addition a book will be kept in Reception for everyone to note when a negative comment or feedback is made to them by a patient.

The book will be checked periodically (at least monthly) by the Complaints Manager to identify trends for discussion and possible amendment of procedures or targeted training needs.

Practice Resources

Complaint Form ^[*]

Complaint Review Form (for annual review) ^[*]

Complaints Procedure Leaflet (Patient information) ^[*]

Complaints – Third Party Consent Form ^[*]

References

Local Authority Social Services & National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 – S.I. 209, No.309

NHS Complaints Procedure (England only): Guidance for Primary Care, BMA August 2015

Medico-legal guide to the NHS Complaints Procedure, M.D.U.  2012

NHS Complaints in England – Regulations & Principals, M.P.S 2013

NHS England Complaints policy;

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/nhse-complaints-policy.pdf