Complaint Policy

This Complaint Policy applies to the supply of medical services by Kinvara Private Hospital Ltd, company number 11248045, registered office 2 Clifton Lane, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S65 2AJ.

In the event of any inconsistency between this Complaint Policy and other documentation on the handling of complaints, this Complaint Policy shall prevail. On all other matters, our Terms and Conditions take precedence.

Kinvara Private Hospital ("KPH") prides itself on providing patients the best available care. We recognise there may be times when expectations are not met. If you are not satisfied with the service you have received at Kinvara Private Hospital, it is your right to have your concerns investigated and to be given a full and prompt reply.

By reporting concerns, you help us make sure we have listened to what has been said and acted upon the feedback. This helps us create a culture of continuous quality improvement and improve the service we provide to patients in the future. All complaints will be recorded in the KPH Complaint Register and learning points disseminated after every investigation.

A complaint may be made by a patient, a person acting on behalf of a patient, or anyone who has been affected by any action, omission or decision of Kinvara Private Hospital. Where a complainant is acting on behalf of a patient, they must provide written consent from the patient before the complaint procedure is initiated.

Where the patient has died, the complaint may be made by the named next of kin, or by a person nominated by the named next of kin.

The purpose of the Complaint Policy is to make it easy for patients, or the person acting on their behalf, who are dissatisfied with our service, to lodge a complaint or provide constructive criticism.

The Complaint Policy applies to both clinical and non-clinical complaints, and to complaints about the performance of healthcare professionals working at KPH.

Patients can request a copy of the Complaint Policy at any time, and it may also be downloaded from the KPH website.

• Employees and healthcare professionals are not authorised to make any statement accepting responsibility or admitting liability until the complaint has been fully investigated and statements have been authorised by Kinvara Private Hospital.
• Complaints about the service of another clinic or hospital will not be investigated by KPH.
• We are aware that patients may act out of character in times of frustration or distress, and that there may have been upsetting or distressing circumstances leading up to a complaint. However, patients who are aggressive, abusive, discriminatory, unreasonable or acting in a vexatious manner will not be tolerated.
• Complaints relating to issues more than six months old will not be investigated.

Kinvara Private Hospital reserves the right to decline patients for treatment following an initial consultation. Reasons for this may include, but are not limited to:

• The patient has made an unfounded complaint regarding their consultation, or expressed dissatisfaction with their consultation.
• The patient has posted misleading or false statements about KPH or the surgeon online.
• The patient has made an unfounded complaint regarding the pre-operative process.
• The patient has been uncooperative.
• The patient has used language that is considered abusive, intimidating, discriminatory or violent.
• The patient refuses to engage in a second consultation at the request of the surgeon.

The patient will be informed of the decision and will not be permitted to use the Complaint Procedure to challenge the decision of the surgeon or KPH.

The Kinvara Private Hospital Complaint Procedure has three stages:

• Stage 1: Local Resolution
• Stage 2: Internal Appeal
• Stage 3: Independent External Adjudication

At the Local Resolution stage, we aim to investigate and respond as quickly as possible.

Verbal Complaints

If a patient makes a verbal complaint, KPH will make every effort to resolve the complaint at that moment. If the matter cannot be resolved, the patient will be asked to complete the Complaint Form in order to initiate the Complaint Procedure.

The Complaint Form provides a structured format for the submission of a complaint and ensures all the necessary information is received, facilitating timely and thorough investigation.

Written Complaints

If the patient makes a written complaint, the KPH Admin Team will direct the patient to submit their complaint via the Complaint Form on the KPH website. The KPH Admin Team will provide assistance if the patient has any difficulty in completing the Complaint Form.

If the complaint is about a surgeon or independent practitioner, patients should address their complaint to both KPH and the Consultant or independent practitioner.

Acknowledgement

Upon receipt of the completed Complaint Form, KPH will send an email acknowledgement to the patient within three working days.

Investigation Process

To determine whether the complaint raised by the patient is valid and can be resolved at Stage 1, KPH will consider four factors:

• What exactly is the complaint? It is important we have a clear understanding of the complaint, and we may request further information from the patient to get a full understanding of the issue.
• What does the patient wish to achieve from the complaint? The outcome must be clarified by the patient at the outset, in order to establish expectations and whether they can be satisfied.
• Can the expected outcome be achieved at Stage 1, for example by way of apology or by another means?
• Can it be resolved immediately?

In-Person Meetings

If a patient wishes to have an in-person meeting in the first instance to resolve their complaint, KPH will endeavour to arrange a meeting between the patient and a representative. If, for any reason, KPH is unable to arrange a meeting, the investigation will still continue and a full written response will be provided to the patient. KPH reserves the right to decline an in-person meeting.

Response Timeline

Kinvara Private Hospital will send a full written response within twenty working days of receipt of the complaint. In exceptional circumstances, where there are clear and justified reasons for doing so, KPH may extend the timescale for Local Resolution and will explain the reason(s) for the delay.

Patients who are unhappy with the written response may request escalation of their complaint to Stage 2, Internal Appeal. This request must be made in writing within four weeks of the date of the written response.

A complaint can be escalated to Stage 2, Internal Appeal, in circumstances including but not limited to:

• The patient feels local resolution has not adequately addressed the complaint.
• There is a clear, articulable failure to understand the root cause of the problem.
• The complaint relates to:
  • a pattern of recurring problems or systemic issues that may warrant escalation;
  • complex issues where a detailed investigation is warranted;
  • dissatisfaction with the outcome of surgery;
  • a personal injury claim;
  • issues that have been identified as serious or high risk;
  • violation of hospital policies or healthcare regulations.

Clear Articulable Reasons Required

Patients who request escalation of their complaint to Stage 2 must provide clear, articulable reasons for escalation, in writing, to KPH. These reasons should be logical, transparent and easily understandable, allowing KPH to comprehend why the complaint warrants further investigation. Kinvara Private Hospital reserves the right to determine what is considered a clear articulable reason, and to accept or refuse the request for escalation to Stage 2.

Investigation

Stage 2 will be conducted by a member of the Senior Management Team who has not been involved with Stage 1, who will form an independent view of the complaint and respond directly to the patient, either accepting or refuting the complaint.

Response Timeline

When a complaint has been escalated to Stage 2, the patient will be sent an email acknowledgement within three working days from the date they notified KPH of their wish to escalate to Stage 2.

Patients will be provided with a full and final response as soon as possible, but no later than twenty working days from the date they notified KPH of their wish to escalate to Stage 2.

In exceptional circumstances, where there are clear and justified reasons for doing so, KPH may extend the timescale for Stage 2 and will explain the reason(s) for the delay.

Surgical Outcome Complaints

If the complaint relates to the outcome of surgery, the responsible surgeon will be asked to provide a response. If the surgeon is unable to provide a response within twenty days because of personal circumstances, or is precluded from providing a response on the advice of their medical indemnity insurance provider, the patient will be informed. In the former case, the patient will be given an indication of when the surgeon will provide a response.

Personal Injury Claims

If the complaint relates to a personal injury claim or damage to property, Kinvara Private Hospital reserves the right to refute any admission of liability.

If the patient indicates their intent to start litigation at any point during Stage 1 or Stage 2, or KPH receives a Letter of Claim or Letter of Notification, KPH reserves the right to terminate the Complaint Procedure and will inform the patient.

Patients who remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the Stage 2 internal investigation have recourse to independent external adjudication.

In such cases, patients must provide written confirmation to KPH of their intent to pursue independent external adjudication within four weeks of receiving the final written response from the Stage 2 investigation. Escalation to independent external adjudication is only permitted if both Stage 1 and Stage 2 have been fully completed by KPH. Patients should be aware that they are responsible for covering the fees associated with independent external adjudication.

You may also raise concerns with the Care Quality Commission at any time. The CQC does not resolve individual complaints or award redress, but it regulates the Hospital and may use the information you provide.

Kinvara Private Hospital is committed to dealing with all complaints in a fair and impartial manner. However, KPH reserves the right to take action against patients who demonstrate unreasonable behaviour that hinders the consideration of a complaint because of the frequency or nature of the complainant's contact with the Hospital.

Examples of Unreasonable Behaviour

Examples of unreasonable behaviour include, but are not limited to, a patient who:

• refuses to articulate their complaint, or to specify the grounds of a complaint or the outcomes sought, despite offers of assistance;
• refuses to cooperate with the complaint investigation process;
• refuses to accept that certain issues are not within the scope of the complaint procedure;
• insists on the complaint being dealt with in ways that are incompatible with the complaint procedure or with good practice;
• introduces trivial or irrelevant information that they expect to be taken into account;
• raises numerous unrelated questions and insists they are fully answered, often immediately and to their own timescales;
• makes unjustified complaints about staff who are trying to deal with the issues they have raised, and seeks to have them replaced;
• changes the basis of the complaint as the investigation proceeds;
• repeatedly makes the same complaint, despite previous investigations or responses concluding that the complaint has no merit or has been addressed;
• refuses to accept the findings of the investigation despite proper implementation and completion of the complaint procedure;
• seeks an unrealistic outcome, or expresses an intention to pursue the complaint until that outcome is achieved;
• makes excessive demands on KPH staff by frequent, lengthy and complicated contact, in person, in writing, by email or by telephone, while the complaint is being dealt with;
• uses abusive, discriminatory or intimidating language;
• knowingly provides false information;
• publishes false or misleading information on social media or other public forums.

Patients should try to limit their communication with KPH relating to their complaint while the complaint is being progressed. It is not helpful if repeated correspondence is sent (by letter, telephone or email), as it could delay the outcome being reached.

Actions We May Take

The decision on whether a patient is behaving unreasonably will ultimately rest with the Senior Management Team, and where possible a team member will discuss any concerns with the patient. If the unreasonable behaviour continues, the Senior Management Team will write to the patient explaining which aspect of their behaviour is unreasonable and what action KPH will take. This may include, but is not limited to:

• requesting that they communicate with KPH by email only;
• requesting that they make contact with one particular named member of staff;
• restricting their telephone calls to specific days and times;
• requesting that they adhere to a Code of Conduct that provides guidance on future behaviour;
• terminating contact with immediate effect.

KPH reserves the right to terminate contact with persistent complainants, patients who continue to demonstrate unreasonable behaviour, or patients who fail to follow instructions as requested by the Senior Management Team.

While all surgeons and healthcare professionals must meet certain education, training and experience requirements to practise at KPH, the Hospital is not responsible for, and does not necessarily agree with, opinions they express on their personal platforms such as social media.

This Complaint Policy was last updated on 28 May 2026.