Complaints

Tell us first

If you are unhappy with our service, with an NHS service we provide, or with a private service or product you paid for, please tell us. We want to put it right. You can contact us in whichever way suits you:

• Email: info@wilmslow-pharmacy.co.uk
• Phone: 01625 523414 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm)
• In person at the pharmacy
• By post: Wilmslow Pharmacy, Unit 2 Summerfields Village Centre, Dean Row Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 2TA

Please tell us your name, how to contact you, your order number if you have one, and what went wrong. Someone else, such as a family member or carer, can complain for you if you give your permission.

If you need medical help urgently, do not wait for a reply to your complaint. Call NHS 111, or 999 in an emergency.

What happens next

• We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days.
• Our Superintendent Pharmacist, Ahmed Nizar Al-Liabi, is responsible for handling complaints.
• We aim to send you a full reply within 20 working days. If we need longer, we will tell you why and when to expect our reply.

Making a complaint does not affect your legal rights.

NHS services

If your complaint is about an NHS service, such as NHS prescriptions, Pharmacy First or NHS vaccinations, you can complain to us or to the NHS body that pays for the service. This is called the commissioner. You can choose either, but not both.

You should normally complain within 12 months of the problem, or within 12 months of finding out about it. If you have a good reason for complaining later, we may still be able to look into it.

When we acknowledge your complaint, we will offer to talk with you about how we will handle it and when you can expect our reply.

For most NHS services we provide, including NHS prescriptions and Pharmacy First, the commissioner is NHS Cheshire and Merseyside. Contact its Patient Advice and Complaints Team:

• Online: use the complaint form on its complaints page
• Email: enquiries@cheshireandmerseyside.nhs.uk
• Phone: 0800 132 996
• By post: Patient Advice and Complaints Team, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, No 1 Lakeside, 920 Centre Park Square, Warrington WA1 1QY

Some NHS services, such as NHS flu and COVID-19 vaccinations, may be paid for by NHS England. If you are not sure who to contact, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside will tell you. You can also contact NHS England:

• Phone: 0300 311 22 33
• Email: england.contactus@nhs.net (put “For the attention of the complaints team” in the subject line)
• By post: NHS England, PO Box 16738, Redditch B97 9PT

Free help to make a complaint

Your local council provides a free, independent NHS complaints advocacy service. An advocate can help you write your complaint and can come to meetings with you. Ask us for details, or search online for “NHS complaints advocacy” and the name of your council.

The Ombudsman

If you are still unhappy after your NHS complaint has been answered, you can ask the Public Service Ombudsman (formerly the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman) to look at it. The Ombudsman is independent of the NHS and looks at NHS services, not private ones. Visit ombudsman.org.uk or call 0345 015 4033. You usually need to contact the Ombudsman within 12 months of when you first knew about the problem.

If you are still not happy

Complaints about a private service or something you paid for

You can get free, independent advice from the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm), or at citizensadvice.org.uk.

If we cannot settle your complaint, our final reply will tell you whether an independent dispute resolution scheme can look at it.

Concerns about pharmacy care or standards

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) regulates pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacies in Great Britain. It is not a general complaints service. It does not deal with things like refunds, delivery problems or customer service. You can tell the GPhC if you are worried about the safety of a pharmacy’s service, or about how a pharmacist or pharmacy technician behaves or works. See the GPhC’s page on reporting concerns.

How we use your information

If you are unhappy with how we have used your personal information, please tell us first using the contact details above. Our privacy policy explains your rights. If you are still unhappy, you can complain to the ICO, the UK’s data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk.