A new way to help resolve patient complaints
Receiving a patient complaint is rarely easy. Even when you are confident in the care and service you have provided, complaints can be stressful, time-consuming and difficult to resolve once communication has broken down.
The Chiropractic Complaints Mediation Service (CCMS) provides another option.
CCMS is a free, independent and confidential mediation service for patients and chiropractors, funded by the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) as a pilot and delivered independently by Nockolds Resolution.
Its purpose is simple: to help patients and chiropractors resolve suitable complaints constructively, before positions become entrenched or matters escalate unnecessarily.
Who is Nockolds Resolution?
Nockolds Resolution specialises in complaints handling, mediation and alternative dispute resolution in regulated professional sectors. Its team includes experienced mediators and Resolution Managers who understand the pressures that complaints can create for both professionals and consumers.
That experience matters because complaints are not always simply about whether something was done “right” or “wrong”. Sometimes a patient wants an explanation. Sometimes expectations differ. Sometimes communication has broken down and neither side knows how to move forward.
An independent mediator can help reopen that conversation.
CCMS isn’t here to judge
This is perhaps the most important point for chiropractors.
CCMS does not decide whether the patient or chiropractor is right or wrong. It does not investigate complaints or impose outcomes.
Instead, it helps both parties understand the issues, communicate more effectively and explore whether an agreed resolution can be reached.
Being contacted by CCMS does not mean somebody has decided you have done something wrong. It means there is a concern that may be capable of being resolved through mediation.
Finding a constructive way forward
Resolution can look different in every case. It might involve an explanation, acknowledgement or apology, further information, a refund or goodwill gesture, or an agreed change within the practice.
CCMS does not award compensation or determine liability. Any resolution must be agreed by both parties.
Ultimately, CCMS is about giving patients and chiropractors another way to resolve concerns constructively and move forward.