At Well Life Clinic Oxted Ltd, we are fully committed to delivering safe, high quality and effective healthcare. We appreciate all feedback regarding the care and service that you or your family experience during your visit and this leaflet explains how we deal with concerns or complaints you may wish to raise.

As part of our commitment to continual improvement, we encourage our patients to provide feedback so that we can consider your views and priorities. One way to do this is via our patient satisfaction questionnaire which we send to all patients after each visit. The feedback received from the questionnaire remains anonymous, is reviewed regularly and shared with the team. We encourage you to complete this to enable us to grow and evolve as a service that continually meets your needs.

How to Raise an Issue or Concern
We hope you find your visit to be comfortable and that you do not have any concerns about the service you receive. If you do encounter any problems, however small, we ask that you tell us as soon as possible. We will respond to any concerns considerately and as effectively as possible. All comments and complaints are taken seriously, regardless of their nature. You can provide feedback as follows:

During your visit: If you have a concern, please ask to speak to the senior person on site. Where possible, they will resolve your concern immediately. If you remain dissatisfied please see the section below entitled ‘The Complaints Process’.

After your visit: Please write to the Regional Clinic Manager at:  
F.A.O The Regional Clinic Manager
Well Life Clinic  
125-131 Station Road  
Oxted  
RH8 0QE  

‍Or  

Email at concerns@welllife-clinic.co.uk

The Complaints Process
There may be occasions when you wish to express your concerns or complaint in writing. Our complaints policy ensures your concerns are investigated and that you are given a full reply. Any complaint we receive is treated in confidence and we strive to investigate with courtesy and sympathy and provide a response within recognised timelines.

Our complaints procedure has three stages and involves the following people and organisations:
‍
Stage 1: Local Resolution
Your complaint will be handled by the local senior management team and the Regional Clinic Manager.

Stage 2: Internal Review
Your complaint, and it's handling will be reviewed by our Managing Director

Stage 3: Independent External Adjudication
We are a member of the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS) who can undertake an external and independent review for you.

What are the first steps?
Before making a complaint, it is important to establish what you may want to achieve. Under our complaints policy, we can:
- Carry out an investigation and offer an explanation for what happened
- Take steps to help put the matters right and reassure you that we have done so.

What happens if I make a verbal complaint?
If you make a verbal complaint to a member of staff, it is a good idea to make a note of when you did this and who you spoke to. The staff member will attempt to resolve your complaint immediately and if this is not possible, the complaint will be further investigated.

How do I make a written complaint?

Stage 1: Formal Complaint
It is helpful to put all formal complaints in writing. Your email or letter should include:
‍
• Who or what has caused your concerns  
• Where and when the events took place  
• What action you have already taken, if any  
• What outcome you want from your complaint.  

The Regional Clinic Manager will acknowledge your complaint within three working days of receipt, unless a full reply can be sent within five working days of receiving it. All complaints are taken seriously and are handled openly and honestly in a bid to be fair to all concerned and to conclude matters to the satisfaction of all parties as soon as practically possible.  

The Regional Clinic Manager is responsible for ensuring your complaint is investigated fully and the relevant clinic will provide you with a written response (via post or email) within 20 working days. Or, if the investigation is still ongoing, provide a written update every 20 working days with an explanation of the reason for the delay however this is a very rare occurrence. As part of investigating your complaint, the Regional Clinic Manager may offer to meet with you (or to have a call) to help ensure we fully understand the issues you have raised and your desired outcome. After the meeting, we will send you a full written response.  

What happens if I am not happy with the response?
Our aim is to deal with your complaint as quickly as possible at a local level. If you are not satisfied with our response, please do inform the Managing Director, outlining why and they will try to resolve your outstanding concerns and reach a satisfactory conclusion for you. If you remain dissatisfied with the initial response, you can ask for an internal review as part of stage 2 of our complaints process.

What does an internal review involve?
The internal review (stage 2) is the responsibility of the Managing Director. Please write to:

F.A.O The Managing Director
Well Life Clinic  
125-131 Station Road
Oxted  
RH8 0QE

You will need to do this within six months of the date of the final local written stage 1 response from the Regional Clinic Manager. You will receive an acknowledgment of the stage 2 review within three working days of receipt (unless a full reply can be sent within five working days). The Managing Director will ensure a comprehensive review is completed of your complaint. This will include a review of the correspondence and handling of the concerns you have raised at local level. You may also be offered a meeting (or a call) to help us in resolving your concerns. This review will either confirm the decisions and actions taken by the Regional Clinic Manager or offer an alternative solution.

You will receive a written response (via post or email) within 20 working days. Or, if the review is still ongoing we will provide a written update every 20 working days with an explanation of the reason for delay until the matter is resolved. Extending past the 20 working days is a rare occurrence.

What happens if I'm still unhappy?
If you remain dissatisfied following the completion of the internal review of your complaint, you can request an independent external adjudication by the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS). You can request an independent adjudication of Well Life Clinic Oxted Ltd’s decision by writing to:

Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service  
CEDR, 3rd Floor  
100 St. Paul’s Churchyard  London  
EC4M 8BU  

Web: www.iscas.org.uk  
Telephone: 020 7536 6091
Email: info@iscas.org.uk  

You will need to write to ISCAS Secretariat within six months of the final decision of our internal review. You will need to clarify in writing which aspects of your complaint you wish to refer to adjudication and give your consent to ISCAS process and the release of any relevant case and clinical records. The Secretariat will then inform us of your request for adjudication, and we will then send all the relevant information to the Secretariat as requested. You will not have to pay a fee for this service as the costs are met by Well Life Clinic ISCAS membership.

ISCAS will confirm with us if your complaint has completed stages 1 and 2 and then will request clarification from you that you are willing to agree to the terms of ISCAS. ISCAS will then appoint a Principal Adjudicator, who is independent of ISCAS and its membership, and who will agree the key points of your complaint with you. They will provide a written acknowledgement to complainants of their request for independent external adjudication within three working days of receipt of the request. ISCAS will keep you updated on the progress of the adjudication of your complaint and will do this, at a minimum, every 20 working days.

The adjudication process is intended to bring about a final resolution of the complaint for both parties. It is important that you understand the binding nature of the adjudication process:  

- The finality of the decision by the adjudicator  
- Any decision and/or goodwill gesture awarded by the adjudicator brings the complaint process to a close.  

The Independent Adjudicator will consider a wide range of remedies, including asking the ISCAS provider member:  
- To provide an explanation and apology, where appropriate  
- To act to put things right  
- To share details of how the organisation has learnt from the complaint and any changes made as a result  
- To offer a goodwill payment in recognition of shortfalls in complaint handling, inconvenience, distress, or any combination of these, up to a limit of £5,000.  

Where any aspect of your complaint might give rise to a clinical negligence claim, your right to seek independent legal advice remains.  
‍
Questions
If you have any questions about the Well Life Clinic Oxted Ltd’s policy, please contact the Managing Director at the above postal or email address.