Complaints about College issues
The Royal College of Psychiatrists strives
to provide excellent service to everyone who comes into contact
with our Members and Associates or our staff. However, if you
are dissatisfied with some aspect of our work then you may wish to
complain. We have Complaints
Policies, which apply to Members and Associates and to lay
people involved in our work, a Disciplinary and Complaints
Committee which includes senior Officers and Members of the
College, and a Complaints Manager, who is a member of staff.
If something goes wrong, our aim is to
ensure that a complaint we have the power to deal with is addressed
quickly and fairly. Sometimes it may be easiest and quickest
to try to sort a matter out informally – but if you do wish to make
a formal complaint it is important to understand what the College
is able to deal with and what lies outside its remit.
What we can do and what we cannot
do
We cannot deal with the
following issues because other organisations are
responsible:
- If you have a concern or complaint about
an individual psychiatrist and his or her right or competence to
practise you should contact the General Medical Council.
- Complaints about treatment received within
the NHS are dealt with firstly by the hospital or other
organisation concerned, through the legal system or (in England) by
the Health Service Ombudsman.
- Complaints about organisations in the
independent sector are dealt with by these organisations, or
through the legal system.
- Complaints relating to the Mental Health
Act in England (the use of powers and duties in the Act only) can
be looked at by the Care Quality Commission. Equivalent
complaints in Wales are dealt with by the Health Inspectorate, in
Scotland by the Mental Welfare Commission and in Northern Ireland
by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority.
- The College Complaints policy applies to
College Members or Associates in relation to work carried out on
behalf of the College, while acting as a representative of the
College or in some other College capacity.
Some College matters have
different processes:
- If your complaint relates to the
MRCPsych examinations, please contact the Head of
Examinations.
- If your complaint is about a member of
staff, please contact the Head of Human Resources. There is a
separate policy covering this.
So, our Complaints procedure is
about other roles in the College or work carried out on behalf of
the College.
If you wish, after reading the above, to
pursue a complaint about a College Member or Associate, in relation
to their work for, or role in, the College then please follow the
guidelines in the Complaints
Policies. The policies set out the information you
must include when you write to us, and how the College will deal
with your complaint.
Complaints (by hard copy in writing only,
not by any electronic means) should be addressed to:
The Complaints Manager
Royal College of Psychiatrists
17 Belgrave Square
London
SW1X 8PG
April
2011