Our commitment
We want everyone who comes to Vale to have a good experience, but we know things don’t always go as they should. If you’re unhappy with any part of your care, or with how you’ve been treated by anyone at the clinic, please tell us. Your feedback helps us put things right and improve.
Making a complaint will never affect the care you receive from us. We handle every complaint fairly, promptly and in confidence.
Who can complain
You can complain about care you have received from us. Someone else, such as a relative or carer, can complain on your behalf with your permission.
Time limits
Please raise your complaint as soon as you can, ideally within 12 months of the event, or of when you became aware of the problem. This helps us look into it properly. If there’s a good reason for a delay, we will still consider your complaint where we can.
Stage 1: Tell us
Many concerns can be sorted out quickly, so please speak to the clinician involved or to our reception team first.
If you’d rather make a formal complaint, contact our Clinic Director and CQC Registered Manager, Gary Edwards:
- Email: info@valehealthclinic.co.uk
- Phone: 01892 543029
- Post: Gary Edwards, Vale Health Clinic, 31–33 Vale Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1BS
Please tell us your name and contact details, what happened and when, who was involved, and what you would like us to do.
What happens next
- We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days.
- We will look into it carefully, which may include talking to the people involved and reviewing your records.
- We aim to send you a full written response within 20 working days. If we need longer, we’ll explain why and keep you updated.
Our response will explain what we found, apologise where we got things wrong, and tell you what we are doing to put it right.
Stage 2: Internal review
If you’re not happy with our response, please tell us why. Your complaint will be reviewed again, and we will send you our final response in writing.
Stage 3: Independent review
If you remain unhappy after our final response, you may be able to ask an independent organisation to review how your complaint was handled. Our final response will tell you which organisation you can contact and how.
Other organisations you can contact
- Care Quality Commission (CQC): regulates our clinic. It can’t investigate individual complaints, but it wants to hear about your experience of care. cqc.org.uk
- General Medical Council (GMC): for concerns about a doctor’s or surgeon’s fitness to practise. gmc-uk.org
- General Chiropractic Council (GCC): for concerns about a chiropractor’s fitness to practise. gcc-uk.org
- General Dental Council (GDC): for concerns about dental treatment. gdc-uk.org
- Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): for concerns about how we handle your personal information. ico.org.uk
Confidentiality and records
Complaints are handled in confidence. Information about your complaint is shared only with the people who need it to investigate and respond. Complaint records are kept separately from your medical records, and are used to help us learn and improve.
Compliments and feedback
We’re always pleased to hear when things have gone well, and we welcome ideas for how we could do better. You can share feedback with any member of the team, by email, or by leaving a Google review.