Service Concerns Alert Process
NHS Derby and Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has developed a Service Concerns Alert process for managing quality and patient safety concerns, incidents and issues. This process has been developed as a response to national drivers, such as learning from the Francis Report and evidence based good practice. It provides a single point of access to raise quality and patient safety issues and it will be used to identify areas/services that need to improve patient safety and experience. It will also facilitate improved communication, identify themes and trends, and inform commissioning decisions.
The process provides a route for GPs and other health service providers to report safety and quality concerns regarding care being delivered in a commissioned service into the Derby and Derbyshire CCG. It also provides a feedback mechanism that will inform the reporter of the actions taken.
The Service Concerns Alert process is not intended to replace the formal complaints process, nor is it for reporting clinical incidents. This process is in addition to, and separate from, the processes already in place for managing complaints and/or incidents.
I'm a Patient Wanting to Raise a Concern
Patients are encouraged to follow the relevant service provider’s complaints process. Follow the link to find out how to make a complaint here.
I'm a Health Professional Wanting to Raise a Service Concern
How and when to raise a service concerns alert
Concerns, incidents or issues related to Quality and/or Patient Safety could be:
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inappropriate patient pathways
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dispensing errors, delays to patient treatment
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referral issues
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e-discharge information
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poor discharges
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communication and information governance
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breach of NHS Standard contract
This list is not exhaustive and further advice on what to report can be sought from the Clinical Quality Team please call 01332 868911.
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To report concerns that GP Practices/other healthcare providers have about locally commissioned health services it should first be considered whether the concern is:
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urgent patient safety issue/serious incident
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related to a specific patient or
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general concern about service provision
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medicines management
Urgent Patient Safety Issue / Serious Incident
Telephone the CCG’s Patient Safety Team (James Barker - Senior Patient Safety Officer or Sharon Baker Patient Safety Officer) – on 01332 868 911 or mobile 07826 951 915, or email DDCCG.PatientSafety@nhs.net
Concerns relating to a specific patient
If the concern is related to a specific patient the relevant provider Service Concern Alert form should be forwarded to the service provider. This allows for the provider to investigate using any patient details you can provide.
Concerns raised directly with providers and the actions taken will form part of the regular reporting and Quality Assurance meetings the CCG has with each of its providers.
If you have raised a concern with a service provider directly and do not receive a timely response/you are unhappy with the response then you may wish to inform the CCG of the concern and response received. Please remove any patient identifiable information before sharing with the CCG. A member of the Clinical Quality Team will then address with the provider concerned.
General Concerns About Service Provision or Commissioning Concerns
If your Service concern is more general - for example you have noticed a theme such as poor quality discharge information or have a general concern such as a provider not fulfilling contractual obligations then please complete the CCG's Service Concern Alert form to the CCG Service Concerns Alert inbox - DDCCG.ServiceConcerns@nhs.net. *Please do not include any patient identifiable information when completing the form.
The Derby and Derbyshire CCG will keep all information on this form secure and confidential and will only share with the respective provider(s) or commissioner(s) the description of the concern to improve services. You will be updated on the progress of your concern in line with the Service Concerns Alert process.
Medicines Management Issue
Chesterfield Royal Hospital & Derby Teaching Hospital have set up a facility to provide GPs with a means of highlighting problems that have occurred with the prescribing or supply of medicines at discharge from hospital. This facility can also be used to report on inappropriate prescribing requests made to primary care clinicians. These prescribing concerns can be submitted by GP practices directly to the relevant hospital via their prescribing concerns portal – links to these portals can be found on the Derbyshire Medicines Management website
If your concern relates to Chesterfield Royal Hospital click here.
If your concern relates to Derby Teaching Hospitals click here.
If you have received an inappropriate prescribing request from another Trust click here to report. See also the out of area guidance.
