"Awful service and fail to respond to complaints"

I raised a complaint with Manor Farm surgery on 2nd November 2019 by e-mail with the Practice Manager who is still showing as the Practice Manager for Manor Farm internet site, I've since found out that the member of staff has moved on. I was then subsequently contacted by phone by another manager, who informed me that she had taken over from the previous manager and would be dealing with my complaint. This new manager was either not capable of dealing with my complaint or was not is possession of the full facts as when she contacted me by phone, she didn’t seem to understand what it was that I was actually complaining about, despite me providing a full and detailed e-mail outlining my issues.

I was informed that I would receive a call back. I didn’t, instead sent me an e-mail on 13th November 2019 advising me that my complaint had been passed to her lead manager. To date I have had no further contact.

The next day I received an unsigned letter from the Practice Development Manager dated 8th November. The letter failed to indicate when I would likely to receive an update. The advice on line regarding making a complaint states:

“We will usually acknowledge receipt within three working days, and aim to resolve the matter as soon as possible but will give you some idea of how long that may take at the outset”.

Clearly the letter has been system generated and I suspect not even seen by the Development Manager. Also, the deadlines and advice as mentioned on the complaints page have both not been followed, which is another failing of the practice’s complaints procedure.

Its now 24 days since I made my initial complaint by e-mail, 14 days since I received the last update by e-mail from the practice manager and 18 days since the date on the letter from the Development Manager.

I think you will agree that this is just another example of the poor service on offer from the management and the other staff at Aston Personal Healthcare. No wonder the practice has had so much bad press and when I last spoke with the Development Manager last year regarding a separate complaint I was told that she had been put in post to improve the service.

Clearly this is not working and are not making a difference at all, as the general and overall service on offer is worse now than it has ever been. That ranges from trying to get an appointment to ordering a repeat prescription to to trying to make a complaint.

If Aston Healthcare as an organisation and the Practice Development Manager are unable to follow the basics with complaints procedures and carry out a full and proper investigation in a reasonable amount of time, I do wonder how they would manage something more complex or be trusted to look after and care for vulnerable patients.

This just sums up the appalling service and lack of respect that Aston Healthcare has for its patients.

I wonder if I will receive a response now.

Yours,

A very unhappy and disgruntled patient.