The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Amendment) (Wales) (No. 2) Regulations 2010

Regulation 4(10)

SCHEDULE Paragraph to be substituted for paragraph 22 (complaints) of Schedule 2A to the principal Regulations

“Complaints

22.— (1) A supplier of appliances must establish and operate in accordance with this paragraph a procedure (in this paragraph referred to as a “complaints procedure”) to deal with any complaints made by or on behalf of any person to whom the supplier of appliances has provided pharmaceutical services.

(2) The complaints procedure to be established by a supplier of appliances may be such that it also deals with complaints made in relation to one or more other suppliers of appliances.

(3) The complaints procedure to be established by a supplier of appliances who provides pharmaceutical services from more than one set of premises may be such that it relates to all of those premises together.

(4) A complaints procedure shall apply to complaints made in relation to any matter reasonably connected with the provision of pharmaceutical services by the supplier of appliances and within the responsibility or control of—

(a) the supplier of appliances;

(b) where the supplier of appliances is a body corporate, any of its directors or former directors;

(c) a former partner of the supplier of appliances; and

(d) any employee of the supplier of appliances,

and in this paragraph references to “complaint” means a complaint falling within this sub-paragraph.

(5) A complaint may be made on behalf of any person with his or her consent, or—

(a) where the person is under 16 years of age—

(i) by either parent, or in the absence of both parents, the guardian or other adult person who has care of the child, or

(ii) where the person is in the care of an authority to whose care he or she has been committed under the provisions of the Children Act 1989 or in the care of a voluntary organisation, by that authority or voluntary organisation; or

(b) where the person is incapable of making a complaint, by a relative or other adult person who has an interest in the person’s welfare.

(6) A complaint may be made as respects a person who has died by a relative or other adult person who had an interest in his or her welfare or, as respects a person to whom paragraph (a)(ii) of sub-paragraph (5) applies, by the authority or voluntary organisation.

(7) A complaints procedure shall comply with the following requirements—

(a) the supplier of appliances must specify a person (who need not be connected with the supplier of appliances and who, in the case of an individual, may be specified by his or her job title) to be responsible for receiving and investigating all complaints;

(b) all complaints must be—

(i) recorded in writing,

(ii) acknowledged, either orally or in writing, within the period of two days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays) beginning with the day on which the complaint was received by the person specified under paragraph (a), or where that is not possible as soon as reasonably practicable, and

(iii) properly investigated;

(c) within the period of 20 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays) beginning with the day on which the complaint was received by the person specified under paragraph (a), or where that is not possible as soon as reasonably practicable, the complainant must be given a written summary of the investigation and its conclusions;

(d) where the investigation of the complaint requires consideration of any records relating to the person as respects whom the complaint is made, the person specified under paragraph (a) must inform him or her or the person acting on his or her behalf if the investigation will involve disclosure of information contained in those records to a person other than the supplier of appliances or a director, partner or employee of the supplier of appliances;

(e) the supplier of appliances must keep a record of all complaints and copies of all correspondence relating to complaints, but such records must be kept separate from any records relating to the person by whom the complaint was made; and

(f) a complainant must be advised of his or her right to request a review, in accordance with the Directions, where he or she is dissatisfied with the results of the investigation conducted under the complaints procedure.

(8) At each of the premises at which the supplier of appliances provides pharmaceutical services he or she must provide information about the complaints procedure and give the name (or title) and address of the person specified under paragraph (a) of sub-paragraph (7).

(9) A supplier of appliances must cooperate with any investigation of a complaint by the Local Health Board in accordance with the procedures operated by the Local Health Board under the Directions, whether or not that investigation follows one under the complaints procedure operated by the supplier of appliances.

(10) The cooperation required by sub-paragraph (9) includes—

(a) answering questions reasonably put to the supplier of appliances by the Local Health Board;

(b) providing any information relating to the complaint reasonably required by the Local Health Board; and

(c) attending any meeting to consider the complaint, if held at a reasonably accessible place and at a reasonable hour and due notice has been given, if the presence of the supplier of appliances at the meeting is reasonably required by the Local Health Board.

(11) In this paragraph “the Directions” means the Directions to Local Health Boards on dealing with complaints about family health services practitioners, providers of personal medical services and providers of personal dental services other than personal dental services provided by NHS Trusts, coming into force on 1 April 2003.”.