1. Our Policy
At Skin Medical, we endeavour to engage with patients and their representatives, suppliers & healthcare providers, to a standard of quality that ensures confidentiality, dignity and respect including other laws and regulations.
However hard Skin Medical tries to respond to the wishes and aspirations of those stakeholders accessing our medical services, we do recognise that, on occasion, our service may fall short of expectations. If you believe this has happened to you, you can use this complaints procedure, which tells you how to make a complaint and how it will be handled.
Your complaint, and all accompanying statements and records, will be kept confidential as far as is possible in facilitating a fair and thorough investigation. Whilst your privacy and confidentiality will be respected, this is balanced with the need for an open and fair investigation and for the outcome of the investigation to be reported appropriately, and where necessary acted upon to improve processes and our quality of service. Your complaint may need to be shared with others who have been involved with the healthcare provision in order to ensure as thorough and investigation as possible.
2. Scope of the policy
You can complain about how Skin Medical has managed your treatment if you have evidence that:
(a) published processes or procedures pertaining to the treatment episode have not been followed correctly; or
(b) the objectivity of decision making is called into question, which has a significant adverse effect for you/your treatment or
(c) you provided the correct information but Skin Medical failed in service provision.
3. Limits of the policy
Skin Medical excludes the following issues from its complaints process:
(a) if you disagree with the principle or content of the consultation, or its outcomes;
(b) if you allege unfairness of practice and process but do not supply evidence to substantiate your allegation;
(c) if you were judged medically unsuitable to merit treatment;
(d) if you wish to appeal against any decisions Skin Medical is obliged to take to remain within the appropriate legislative framework;
(e) if you wish to complain about an operational issue that occurred on the day of your treatment but failed to raise it with staff on the day.
N.B If an issue happens on the day of your treatment, patients should speak to the receptionist or practitioner or the senior manager on duty in the first instance.
4. How do I make a complaint?
Please write to:
The Manager
Skin Medical
20 St Ann’s Square
Manchester
M2 7HG
You must state date and treatment which you are having, or are considering, together with the complaint heading in the subject line and provide full evidence to substantiate your complaint. You should also ideally provide a day time telephone contact number.
The sooner you make your complaint, the easier it is to investigate, and the sooner we can put right any issues if we need to provide a remedy to you. For these reasons complaints must be submitted within thirty calendar days of the incident complained of. Please note that any complaint submitted after this deadline will not be reviewed by Skin Medical unless there are highly extenuating circumstances. Please be aware that the complaints policy is not necessarily the appropriate pathway for patients to raise urgent issues or queries regarding on-going operational issues that relate to a current treatment. Patients and stakeholders should raise such issues through Skin Medical’s Enquiries service in the first instance using email: info@skinmedical.co.uk.
5. How we will manage your complaint
Stage 1
We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days of its receipt and give you a unique reference number which you need to quote in any subsequent correspondence.
Stage 2
Within 10 working days of receipt of your complaint we will confirm whether your complaint falls within the scope of this policy. If there are particular requirements which you should have followed, but have not, or your evidence is based on the exemptions in stage 3, we will advise you that the subject matter of your complaint falls outside the scope of Skin Medical’s complaints procedure.
We recognise that complaints vary in complexity, and in investigating them we may need information from people who are not employed by Skin Medical. We aim to answer less complex complaints within twenty working days from receipt and will update you at this point as to the expected completion date for your complaint. For complex complaints that run beyond the twenty day resolution period, we will update you every 20 working days as to the status of your complaint and an estimated completion date.
Stage 3
Skin Medical’s Manager, or a member of their team, will investigate your complaint and gather the facts relevant to the complaint, ensuring that the information gathered is accurate and complete. Their response will contain reasons for either upholding or rejecting your complaint. Where Skin Medical has upheld your complaint and proposes a remedy, a Skin Medical manager will contact you regarding this remedy. In addition, if the complaint is upheld, the action taken and the lessons learned or to be learned will be logged for future purposes.
6. Reviews
If you are unhappy about the decision regarding your complaint, you can request a review of the decision within thirty calendar days of receiving our response to your complaint. You need to provide sufficient evidence for the review. We cannot review a decision which you disagree with, when there is no new evidence to consider.
Stage 1
We will acknowledge your request for a review within two working days of its receipt and give you a unique reference number which you need to quote in any subsequent correspondence.
Stage 2
Within 10 working days we will confirm whether you have provided sufficient further evidence in order for it to be considered as part of a review.
If your review request can be considered, we will then prepare a case statement for review by a senior manager who was unconnected with the handling of the matter at the earlier stage. We aim to complete this review and provide you with a decision within twenty working days from receipt of your request.
Where your request for a review is complex and requires further consideration, we will advise you of this and a likely timescale for completion of the review. For complex reviews that run beyond the twenty day resolution period we will update you every ten working days as to the status of your review and an estimated completion date.
Stage 3
A manager who is unconnected to the complaint will consider your request for a review, and the case statement which has been prepared for them, and respond to you with reasons for either upholding or rejecting your review. Where Skin Medical has upheld your complaint and proposes a remedy, you will be contacted regarding this remedy.
This review stage is final and completes Skin Medical’s complaints process. There is no further right of appeal or ability to request a further review.
7. Withdrawal of complaints
You can withdraw your complaint at any time, by writing to and quoting your reference number to info@skinmedical.co.uk
Your complaint will then be closed permanently and therefore will not be re-opened.
8. Data retention
8.1 In line with Skin Medical’s data management policies for treatment related paperwork, all materials relating to complaints will be deleted or destroyed twelve months after the date of a final decision being made regarding your complaint.
8.2 Patient files will be kept for three years for non-surgical procedures and five years for surgical procedures. After this time patient files will be destroyed. Patients who have not had any treatment with us may request to have their file destroyed at any time.
8.3 Patient contact information will be kept on file electronically unless a specific request for deletion is made.
9. Requesting Patient Medical History
In accordance with data protection laws, anyone wishing to have their medical history released must provide:
(a) A letter which includes the patient’s signature. This signature must match the signature as it is in the patient’s file.
(b) A £50 administration fee.
10. DEPOSITS
10.1 All patients must have a deposit on their file when booking in for any appointment. This deposit can be used as part payment for treatments.
10.2 The fee is non-refundable in the event of cancellations unless the clinic receives at least two business days’ notice.
10.3 When booking a consultation patients must pay a consultation fee of £100 for a consultation with a surgeon, £70 for a snoring consultation, or £25 for all other consultations. Skin Medical is a medical practice employing clinical staff. At consultation patients will see a surgeon or nurse practitioner and be medically assessed. We do not employ any sales people and as such all advice given at consultation is impartial. This fee is also charged in order to ensure that patients are sensible with the clinicians’ time.
10.4 The consultation fee is refundable against the cost of treatment if the patient chooses to proceed. The only exception to this is for laser hair removal in which the consultation fee is refunded against the price of the patch test. If a patient does not proceed with any further treatment at Skin Medical the consultation fee will not be refunded.
10.5 A 50% deposit is taken against treatment for Sculptra, CO2 laser, vaser, otoplasty and stop snoring surgery. Full terms and conditions for this will be given at consultation.
