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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 even most), GPs are failing to comply with their statutory duties
