Last updated: 7 October 2026

At Sidcup Foot Clinic, we aim to provide care that you can trust. If something has not met your expectations, we want to know so that we can put it right and learn from it. This complaints policy explains how to make a complaint and what you can expect from us. Making a complaint will never affect the care you receive.

Our complaints policy commitment

We will listen to you, treat your concerns seriously and be open and honest.
We will deal with your complaint fairly, promptly and in confidence.
We will explain what we found, apologise where things went wrong and tell you what we are doing to prevent it happening again.

Who can complain

Any patient, or a person acting on a patient’s behalf, can make a complaint. If you are complaining for someone else, we will usually need their written consent, unless they are a child, or are unable to give consent. Parents and guardians can complain on behalf of children.

How to make a complaint

You can tell us about your concern in whichever way is easiest for you:

Speak to us: please talk to the clinician or a member of our team at the time, or telephone us on 020 8302 5259.
Online: send us a message through our contact form, starting it with the word “Complaint”.
In writing: Complaints, Sidcup Foot Clinic, Dental Haven Building, 1 Elm Parade, Main Road, Sidcup, DA14 6ND.

To help us look into it, please include your name and contact details, the date and place of the appointment, who you saw (if you know), what happened, and what you would like us to do. Please raise your complaint as soon as you can, ideally within 12 months of the event or of when you became aware of it, so that we can investigate it properly.

What happens next

1. Acknowledgement

We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and tell you who is dealing with it.

2. Investigation

We will look into what happened, speak to the people involved and review the relevant records. If your complaint is about clinical care, it will be reviewed by a suitably qualified person. We may ask you for more information or offer you a call or meeting to discuss it.

3. Our response

We aim to send you a full written response within 20 working days. If we need more time, we will tell you why and keep you updated. Our response will explain what we found, whether we think anything went wrong, what we will do to put it right and what we will change to stop it happening again.

4. Review

If you are not satisfied with our response, please tell us within 28 days, explaining why. We will arrange for the complaint to be reviewed again, where possible by someone who was not involved the first time, and will write to you with the outcome.

Confidentiality

Your complaint will be handled confidentially and shared only with those who need to know in order to deal with it. Records of complaints are kept separately from your clinical records and are held in line with our Privacy Policy.

If you are still not satisfied

We hope to resolve your concerns directly. If you remain unhappy, you may contact:

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), if your concern is about how we have handled your personal information: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint, telephone 0303 123 1113.
The Institute of Chiropody and Podiatry or the professional body your practitioner belongs to: iocp.org.uk.
Citizens Advice, for independent advice about your consumer rights: citizensadvice.org.uk.

Learning from complaints

We review all complaints and the feedback we receive to improve the care and service we provide. Thank you for taking the time to help us do better.