From 1 July 2023, for the South East region, NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board (ICB) will employ and host the pharmacy, optometry, dental commissioning and complaints teams who will work on behalf of the six ICBs in the South East Region – Berkshire West, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Frimley, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Kent and Medway, Surrey Heartlands and Sussex. These teams will be called the South East Commissioning Hub and South East Complaints Hub.

This change is in line with the national approach to improve and strengthen partnership working as set out in the NHS England operating framework.

What does this mean for the way pharmacy, optometry and dental services are commissioned?

Each ICB is responsible for improving services within their geography. The South East Commissioning Hub will work on behalf of all ICBs across the South East to support ICBs to integrate and design services across care pathways that better meet local priorities.

What does this mean for the way people make complaints?

There are two ways people can make a complaint about GPs, dentists, opticians or pharmacies:

• • They can complain to the healthcare provider: this is the organisation where they received the NHS service, for example a GP practice, a dental practice, a community pharmacy or an optometry practice, or
  • They can complain to the commissioner of the service: this is the organisation that paid for the service or care they received.

After 1 July 2023 if people want to make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner, they should contact the South East Complaints Hub via the below:

South East Complaints Hub
NHS Frimley ICB
Aldershot Centre for Health
Hospital Hill
Aldershot
Hampshire
GU11 1AY

Complaints phone number: 0300 561 0290

Complaints email address: Frimleyicb.southeastcomplaints@nhs.net

An acknowledgement to all complaints will be sent as soon as possible.

Information governance regulations mean that the emails sent to the old email address after 1 July, cannot be automatically forwarded and the inbox will not be accessible. People will therefore receive an automatic response, asking them to resend their email to the new address.

Members of the public with ongoing complaints received after 1 July 2022 will receive a letter from NHS England informing them that the South East Complaints Hub, hosted by NHS Frimley ICB will now be handling their complaint with confirmation of their case handler. The current team and case handler will remain the same as the staff move organisation.

Members of the public will still be able to make a complaint to the provider. This is not changing. There is also no change for people wishing to make a complaint for specialised services, health and justice, screening and immunisations and Continuing Healthcare, which will continue to be managed by NHS England.

Information is also available here NHS Frimley – Complaints and compliments (icb.nhs.uk)