Displeased? Talk to us about it!

Good contact with the (deputy) general practitioner is important for both patient and doctor. Fortunately, GPs and patients are usually satisfied with each other. Nevertheless, it may happen that you, as a patient, want to submit a complaint about the actions of your general practitioner, assistant or deputy general practitioner. There is a regulation for this and we explain it here.

A complaint is no small matter for the patient, nor for the doctor. However, your complaint can help your GP to change things that are not going so well. This also helps other patients who are dealing with the same problem. Both patients and GPs therefore benefit from proper handling of complaints. Good treatment starts with a conversation between patient and doctor.

How does it work?

• Step 1: Discuss your complaint with your GP
• Step 2: Primary Care Complaints and Disputes Foundation

Step 1: Discuss the complaint with the doctor
In general, it is best to discuss the complaint with your GP first. If the GP does not know that you are dissatisfied, he/she cannot try to resolve the complaint. Therefore, discuss your complaint with your doctor as soon as possible. If you make an appointment for an interview, please let us know what it is about right away. Then the doctor can make enough time for you. If the discussion with the GP does not lead to a satisfactory result, you can appeal to the complaints procedure.

Step 2: Bodies of the complaints procedure and their working method
If a discussion with your general practitioner does not lead to a satisfactory result, you can submit a complaint to the “Stichting Klachten en Geschillen Primary Care (SKGE)”. The SKGE will provide independent mediation of complaints, whereby the patient and the complaints officer try to reach a satisfactory solution in an informal manner. The SKGE works according to the “Quality of Complaints and Disputes in Healthcare Act”.

To submit a complaint to the SKGE (step 2), you can complete the complaint form (see www.skge.nl). The complaints officer will contact you within a maximum of 2 weeks for an explanation and to discuss the various options. If you wish to continue the complaint, the complaints officer will then contact the general practitioner for a response. The complaints officer will forward this response back to you. This process of hearing both sides (which can be done by telephone or in the form of a ‘live’ mediation conversation) continues until a satisfactory solution is reached. If this does not work, you can possibly start a dispute procedure.

There are no costs associated with submitting a complaint. However, if you are assisted by a representative, lawyer or interpreter, these costs are for your own account.

See also http://www.skge.nl for more information.