Kingston Health Centre Making a complaint Kingston Health Centre

We aim to provide outstanding care, but we recognise that sometimes things go wrong. If you are unhappy with any part of the care or service you have received, we want to hear from you.

Raise a concern informally

Many concerns can be sorted out quickly by speaking to the most appropriate member of the team. Please raise it as soon as you can, while events are fresh. This makes it easier for us to look into what happened and put things right.

Make a formal complaint

You can complain in any of these ways:

By email to
In writing to the Practice Manager at Kingston Health Centre, 10 Skerne Road, Kingston Upon Thames, KT2 5AD
In person or by phone on 020 8549 4747

We will write down what you tell us and check it with you.

What happens next

We acknowledge it

We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days. We will also offer to discuss how it will be handled and how long it is likely to take.

We investigate

We will look into your complaint thoroughly and fairly. We will keep you updated, and tell you if it will take longer than expected.

We write to you

When our investigation is finished, we will write to you. We will explain what we found, apologise where appropriate, and tell you what we are doing about it.

Time limit. You should normally complain within 12 months of the event, or within 12 months of becoming aware of it. We can still look into complaints made after this if there is a good reason for the delay and it is still possible to investigate fairly.

Good to know

Your care is not affected

Making a complaint will not affect your care or treatment at the practice in any way. Complaints are kept separate from your medical records.

Complaining for someone else

You can complain on behalf of someone else but we will need their consent, if they are able to give this.

No need to copy others in

You don't need to copy your complaint to other organisations, such as the ICB, the GMC or your MP, while we are looking into it. Doing so can delay our response. You can still contact them, or the Ombudsman, later if you need to.

If you are unhappy with the response

If you are not satisfied with the response from the practice or the ICB, you can ask the Public Service Ombudsman to review your complaint. The Ombudsman makes final decisions on NHS complaints in England and is independent of the NHS and the Government.

Helpline: 0345 015 4033
(Monday to Thursday 9am to 4pm, Friday 8.30am to 12pm)

Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk

If you do not wish to complain directly to the practice

You can complain to South West London ICB instead. . You can complain to the practice or to the ICB, but not both. Their complaint details are available on their website https://www.southwestlondon.icb.nhs.uk

Using AI to write your complaint

AI-written complaints can sometimes:

be longer and more complicated than they need to be
use formal or legal language that makes the main points harder to follow
mention guidelines, laws or rights that are out of date, inaccurate or not relevant to what happened to you

If you do use AI, please read through your letter or email before sending it. Check that it describes accurately what happened to you. Remove anything repeated or not relevant. At this stage, references to law or national guidance are very unlikely to help us resolve your complaint.