We at East Quay strive to ensure we provide a quality service and treatment to all our patients and in the vast majority of cases we do achieve this standard.

Occasionally however, for a small number of patients we may fail to meet their expectations and in these cases, we appreciate feedback to enable us to improve our service to meet the needs of our patients. We operate a practice complaint procedure as part of a NHS system for dealing with complaints and our complaint procedure meets national criteria.

If you wish to make a complaint about the service or treatment you have received at East Quay Vision, please either:

1. Write a letter to Rachel Stark giving as many details as possible regarding the incident (write to East Quay Medical Centre, East Quay, Bridgwater, TA6 4GP)
2. Ask to speak to Rachel Stark
3. Telephone Rachel Stark (on 01278 444666)

It will be a great help if you are as specific as possible about your complaint.

Please do this as soon as possible to enable us to establish what happened more easily. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:
• within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem; or
• within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the incident.

Depending on the nature and severity of the problem, we may be able to resolve your complaint immediately. If this is not possible, we will endeavor to resolve the problem as soon possible. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 48 working hours and following investigation, will be able to offer an explanation or a meeting with the people involved within a maximum of ten working days of our receipt of the complaint unless otherwise advised.

When we investigate your complaint, we shall aim to:
• Ascertain what happened
• Provide an opportunity for you to discuss the problem with those concerned if you would like this
• Ensure you receive an apology where this is appropriate
• Identify our actions to ensure the incident does not occur again.

If we are unable to resolve the complaint or if you are unhappy with the outcome, you can contact the NHS England. Postal complaints to: (Complaints Manager, NHS England, PO BOX 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT) or email: england.contactus@nhs.net or telephone: (0300 311 22 33). Your complaint will be acknowledged within 3 working days and you will receive an estimate of how long the investigation of your complaint is likely to take and an offer of a discussion about this period.
If your complaint relates to your sight test and you are not happy with how your complaint has been handled either by us or by NHS England, you will be advised of your right to take your complaint to the Health Service Commissioner (Ombudsman). Rachel Stark will provide more details on this.
If your complaint relates to your spectacles or contact lenses you can contact (OCCS, 6 Market Square, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM23 3UZ).

Complaining On Behalf Of Someone Else
Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we need his or her permission before we can act on the information. A note signed by the person concerned is required unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.