Complaints policy
At Phlo, we are committed to making healthcare simpler, more accessible, and centred around people. Our focus is on providing a safe, high-quality service and a positive experience for everyone who uses our services. However, there may be occasions where our service falls short of what you expect. If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, we welcome your feedback so we can address your concerns and continue to improve the care and service we provide.
How to raise a complaint
To raise a complaint, please contact our Patient Care Team and we will do our best to understand the issue and support you with next steps:
Email: pharmacy@wearephlo.com
Telephone: 020 8191 9444
Post: FAO Superintendent Pharmacist Phlo Digital Pharmacy Unit 1 Fifth Street Manchester England M17 1JX
To help us understand and investigate your complaint as quickly as possible, please include your name, the relevant order number, and a brief description of what has happened.
What happens next
Once we receive your complaint:
- We aim to acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days
- We will then investigate your concern carefully, reviewing what happened and working to identify an appropriate outcome
- Where helpful, we may suggest a phone call to better understand the issue and agree next steps together
- We aim to contact you within 20 working days with a summary of our findings and confirmation of any actions taken to address your concerns
Where appropriate, we will also share any learning or improvements with the relevant teams to help improve our services.
If a complaint relates to patient safety or safeguarding, it will be escalated to our safeguarding lead and appropriate action will be taken without delay.
How we handle complaints
When you raise a concern with us, we will always handle it with care, respect, and confidentiality. We aim to ensure that complaints are reviewed fairly, consistently, and in line with our commitment to providing safe, high-quality care.
Where a concern falls outside our services or responsibilities, we will let you know and explain this clearly.
If you are not satisfied with our response
If our initial response does not fully address your concerns, please let us know. We will review your complaint further and arrange for it to be considered by a senior member of staff who was not involved in the original review.
If you remain dissatisfied after receiving our final response, you may choose to escalate your complaint to an external regulatory body.
Depending on the nature of your complaint, you can contact:
- NHS England – for complaints relating to NHS services
https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/complaint/complaining-to-nhse/
- The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) – for concerns about pharmacy services or professional standards
https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/patients-and-public/reporting-concerns
Confidentiality and fairness
All complaints are handled confidentially and with respect. Raising a complaint will not affect your access to care or services now or in the future.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
If you would like to raise a concern on behalf of a patient, we will need the patient’s consent before we can investigate the complaint. This helps us protect patient confidentiality and comply with data protection requirements.
Written consent (by post or email)
The patient can provide consent by sending a post or email confirming that they authorise a named third party to act on their behalf. The written consent should clearly state:
- The full name of the person authorised to act for them
- The authorised person’s email address and/ or postal address
- The authorised person’s mobile number (where applicable)
- Confirmation that they are happy for us to discuss their care and the complaint with that individual
Verbal consent
We also accept verbal consent, provided the patient’s identity has been verified in line with Data Protection Act requirements. A record of the consent and identity verification will be documented.
If we are unable to obtain appropriate consent, we may be limited in the information we can share.
If you have any questions about this process or need support, our Patient Care Team will be happy to help.
Review of this policy
This policy is reviewed regularly to ensure it remains accurate, transparent, and aligned with our commitment to improving healthcare access and quality.