Concerns & complaints

At The Edinburgh Clinic, we are committed to providing the very best possible patient experience. Your feedback is a really important way of helping us to achieve this.

Although the staff who look after you will do all they can to make sure that you are treated sensitively and promptly, it is acknowledged that things may occasionally go wrong. However, take the view that when there has been cause for complaint, it is important to acknowledge this, to put things right quickly wherever possible and to ensure we learn and improve from the feedback received. We will therefore investigate your concerns with those who are directly concerned with the provision of your care, and respond as quickly as possible.

This information tells you what to do if, for any reason, you wish to make a complaint about your care or treatment.

In the first instance, if you are unhappy with any aspect of your care, however small, please speak to any member of staff and we will endeavour to put things right straightaway.

If this cannot be done, or you remain dissatisfied, either the Head of Clinical Services or the Clinic Manager will be happy to speak or meet with you to resolve your concerns.  Any member of staff can make contact with them or, in their absence, an alternative member of the Senior Management Team.

If you wish to express your concern or complaint in writing, please contact:

The Clinic Manager

40 Colinton Road

Edinburgh

EH10 5BT

Please note that complaints should normally be made as soon as possible and within six months of the date of the event complained about. The time limit may sometimes be extended (so long as it is still possible to investigate the complaint). An extension may be possible, such as in situations where it would have been difficult for you to have complained sooner.

Your letter will be acknowledged in writing within three working days of receipt and an investigation will begin into your complaint. If you submit a complaint via email we will treat your complaint in the same way as we would a written complaint.

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 possible.

You will receive our written response within 20 working days.  If our investigations should take longer, we will keep you informed.  We always try to learn from a complaint and, if appropriate, will adjust our working practices to avoid similar complaints arising.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may take this up with the Clinic Manager, who will either try further to explain our response or, in some circumstances, and with your agreement, will arrange an appointment for you to meet with those involved in your care in an attempt to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

It is always our intention to resolve matters amicably but, if you are still not satisfied, then you may write to the Chief Executive of Aspen Healthcare, the company that owns The Edinburgh Clinic. Should you wish to escalate your complaint in this way, you must do so in writing, within six months of the final response to your complaint from The Edinburgh Clinic.

The Chief Executive

Aspen Healthcare Limited

Centurion House (3^rd Floor)

37 Jewry Street

London EC3N 2ER

If you remain dissatisfied having exhausted the company’s local complaints procedure you may request an independent external review. The procedure is for you to write to the ISCAS Secretariat to request a stage three investigation at:

70 Fleet Street

London

EC4Y 1EU

Tel:  020 7536 6091

Email: info@iscas.org.uk

Web: www.iscas.org.uk

This must be done within six months of receipt of the letter from the Chief Executive.

You can read and download the ISCAS Code of Practice here. 

The External Adjudication Secretariat will then communicate with you to outline the procedure that they will follow in the investigation of your complaint.

Healthcare paid for by the NHS

If the NHS has funded your care at The Edinburgh Clinic, the NHS is responsible for the quality of the care provided. If you are not happy about the care and treatment you have received, you may make a complaint to either The Edinburgh Clinic as outlined above, or the local NHS Health Board who commissioned your care. We will work together to resolve your complaint. The Edinburgh Clinic can provide the relevant address on request.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS)

The Clinic is also regulated by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), which monitors the Hospital’s compliance with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.  More information on our professonal Duty Of Candour can be found here.  Patients can contact HIS at any point during or after your care if you have a  concern or complaint. HIS are not part of the escalation process.

Independent Healthcare Team

Gyle Square

1 South Gyle Crescent

Edinburgh

EH12 9EB

T: 0131 623 4342

Email: hcis.clinicregulation@nhs.net
Web: www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org

Finally, should you have any questions or comments in relation to how your concern / complaint is dealt with, then please do not hesitate to contact the Edinburgh Clinic Manager Alasdair Muir on 0131 447 2340.