Responses to your upheld complaints
In accordance with the recommendations of the Francis Inquiry 2013, the NHS Surrey Heartlands Complaints Team publish anonymised summaries of all upheld complaints investigated by NHS Surrey Heartlands.
If your complaint was responded to by an organisation external to NHS Surrey Heartlands, and was upheld, please visit that organisations website for a summary of your complaint.
January 2023
You said:
There were delays in providing funding for real-time glucose monitoring (rtCGM), contrary to NICE guidance.
We confirmed in our written response that a paper would be going to the Area Prescribing Committee (APC) in April 2023.
Following this, an email update was provided to you explaining that the APC had made a recommendation to fund CGM in line with NICE guidelines for Type 1 diabetes and a final decision has been forwarded on to the Integrated Care System Executive Team to make a decision.
February 2023
You said:
I've raised concerns via my MP in relation to the length of time my son had spent awaiting assessments for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
We arranged a call between the complainant and our Deputy Director of Mental Health Commissioning.
Alternative providers were discussed and a referral was made to a provider with a much shorter waiting list. We recognised the importance of ensuring that patients and their carers understand their choices in relation to mental health treatment, and we updated our website to reflect this.
March 2023
You said:
I was unable to collect an emergency prescription of Lorazepam, Ecitalopram and Beta Blockers as the Pharmacy I visited did not have stock, due to a supply issue.
We explained that medication shortages are occurring more frequently in the UK and globally and we acknowledged the significant impact that this has on patients, Pharmacies and GP Practices.
We explained that, for any long-term prescription, you should visit your local Pharmacy in the first instance and if your local Pharmacy does not have your medication in-stock, you can obtain your prescription from another Pharmacy.
We explained that unfortunately, there is currently no national system which enables visibility of stock across primary and secondary care however there are a number of local systems in place to support stock availability between Pharmacies and GP Practices.