New Victoria Hospital prides itself on providing patients with the best available hospital care. If you are unhappy with any aspect of your care, however small, please speak to any member of staff and every effort will be made to put things right straight away. If your concerns are not fully addressed to your satisfaction, please ask to speak with a member of the Executive Management Team (EMT). 

The Hospital is a member of the Independent Healthcare Partners Network (IHPN), which represents over 200 hospitals that provide services to insured, self-paying and NHS-funded patients. IHPN works with the Care Quality Commission to influence, impact and represent the high standard of quality care members provide to patients within an independent healthcare setting.  

There may be times however when expectations are not met. If you are not satisfied with the service you or a close relative or friend has received in the Hospital, it is your right to have your concerns investigated and to be given a full and prompt reply.

The Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS), has been established for a number of years and provides the Code of Practice for Complaints Management, outlining the framework for managing complaints within the independent sector.

The Hospital recognises that complaints provide an opportunity to examine services and ensure a culture of continuous quality improvement. The Hospital Complaints Policy applies to both clinical and non-clinical complaints and is a statement of commitment to quality. It is designed to effectively manage, respond to and resolve complaints. If you are thinking of making a complaint about your care at New Victoria Hospital, this guide tells you about the Code of Practice and gives you advice about how to get the most out of the code to achieve a satisfactory response. 

For full details of the complaints procedure, please request a copy of “Making a Complaint – a guide for patients” or to view online click here.  This comprehensive guide provides a complete overview of your options and the process.

The Hospital Complaints Procedure has three progressive stages:

• Local Resolution
• Internal Appeal
• Independent External Adjudication

At the local resolution stage, the Hospital will investigate and respond to your complaint. The aim is to try and sort out any problems as quickly and informally as possible. You can make your complaint verbally initially, but it is preferable that you confirm this in writing. If your complaint is about a Consultant/Independent Practitioner, you should address your complaint to both the Consultant/Independent Practitioner and the Hospital. The Hospital will send you a written acknowledgement within three working days of receipt of your complaint (unless it is possible to send you a full reply within five working days). The Hospital will send a full written response within twenty working days of receipt of your complaint or, where the investigation is still in progress, send a letter explaining the reason for the delay, at a minimum, every twenty working days. Written complaints should be sent to: The Chief Executive, New Victoria Hospital, 184 Coombe Lane West, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT2 7EG.

If you are not happy with the local investigation and subsequent response from the Hospital, you may request an internal appeal. If you wish to request an internal appeal, you should do so within 6 months of the date of the final written response. Your request should be made in writing and directed to the Chief Executive of the Hospital. The appeal will be investigated by a member of the EMT, previously unconnected with the matter

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the second stage (internal appeal), you have recourse to external adjudication.

For privately funded care, ISCAS facilitates and provides the secretariat for the third stage of the Code of Practice for Complaints Management. In this instance, you would need to write to The Secretariat for the Independent Healthcare Sector Complaints Adjudication Service at:

Independent Healthcare Sector Complaints Adjudication Service

70 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1EU

Tel: 020 7536 6091

Email: [email protected]

If you wish to request an external adjudication you should do so within 6 months of the date of the final written response of your stage 2 investigation.

Clinicians and other healthcare providers who participate in your care may be private practitioners and independent contractors and thus may not be employees or agents of New Victoria Hospital. Examples of such healthcare providers may include but are not limited to GPs, surgeons, consultants, radiologists, anaesthetists, pathologists, obstetricians, medical secretaries and nurses.

While all healthcare providers must meet certain education, training and experience requirements to practice at New Victoria Hospital, the Hospital is not responsible for, nor agrees with, some of the opinions expressed independently via their personal platforms such as social media sites.

For more information on what to expect from your private healthcare provider, please watch the IHPN video.