Our Commitment
We are committed to providing a safe, high-quality, and inclusive pharmacy service to every patient. We take all concerns and complaints seriously and use them to improve our service.
We treat every complaint with fairness, dignity, and respect — regardless of who is making it. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. If you feel you have been treated unfairly, please tell us — this is itself something we want to know about and put right.
How to make a complaint
You can contact us by any of the following methods:
- Email: team@boltpharmacy.co.uk
- Telephone: 03330162337
- Post: Bolt Pharmacy, Unit 3C, Frontier Park, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB1 3AL
- WhatsApp: wa.me/447476943306
If you have a clinical concern — about your treatment, your prescription, or a prescribing decision — please use the secure messaging system in your patient account, or email clinical@boltpharmacy.co.uk. Clinical concerns are reviewed by a qualified prescriber at AIOS Technology Ltd, our CQC-registered clinical partner.
If you are a GP or healthcare professional with a concern about a patient’s care, please contact us at clinical@boltpharmacy.co.uk.
Accessibility — getting support to make your complaint
We want to make it as easy as possible for everyone to raise a concern. If you need support to make your complaint, we can help.
- If English is not your first language, please let us know and we will make reasonable arrangements to communicate with you in a way that works for you.
- If you have a visual impairment, hearing impairment, or any other disability that affects how you communicate, please tell us your preferred method of contact and we will accommodate it.
- If you would like someone else to raise a complaint on your behalf — a carer, family member, or advocate — we will accept and respond to complaints made by a representative, provided you have given your consent.
- If you require a large-print, audio, or alternative format version of any of our communications or policies, contact us at team@boltpharmacy.co.uk.
No complaint will be treated less favourably because of the way it was submitted, or because of who submitted it.
What happens after you complain
Acknowledgement
We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days of receiving it. Our acknowledgement will confirm:
- that we have received your complaint;
- the name of the person handling it; and
- an expected timeframe for our response.
Investigation
We will investigate your complaint thoroughly and impartially. Where your complaint relates to a clinical matter, our Superintendent Pharmacist and, where appropriate, a prescriber at AIOS Technology Ltd will be involved in the review.
Response
We aim to provide a full written response within 20 working days of receiving your complaint. If we need more time — for example, because we are awaiting information from a third party — we will contact you to explain and provide a revised timeframe. We will keep you updated throughout.
Resolution
Our response will explain what we found, what action we have taken or will take, and what you can do if you remain dissatisfied. We will always apologise where something has gone wrong.
If you are not satisfied with our response
If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your complaint, you can escalate to the relevant external body.
Pharmacy — General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
For complaints about the pharmacy, a pharmacist, or the dispensing of your medicine:
- Website: www.pharmacyregulation.org/concerns-and-complaints/raise-a-concern
- Telephone: 020 3713 8000
- Post: General Pharmaceutical Council, 25 Canada Square, London, E14 5LQ
Prescribing service — Care Quality Commission (CQC)
For complaints about the clinical consultation, prescribing decision, or the prescribing service provided by AIOS Technology Ltd:
- Website: www.cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care
- Telephone: 03000 616161
- Post: Care Quality Commission, Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4PA
Data protection — Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
For complaints about how we have handled your personal data:
- Website: www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
- Telephone: 0303 123 1113
- Post: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Bolt Pharmacy does not participate in an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme. If your complaint remains unresolved after our internal process, you retain the right to pursue your complaint through the relevant regulatory body listed above, or through the courts.
Medicines — MHRA Yellow Card scheme
For concerns about a medicine itself — a suspected side effect or product defect:
- Website: yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk
- Telephone: 020 3080 6000
Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI)
Bolt Pharmacy is committed to providing an equitable service that is accessible and welcoming to all patients, regardless of:
- age
- disability (physical, sensory, mental health, or cognitive)
- gender reassignment or gender identity
- marriage or civil partnership status
- pregnancy or maternity
- race, ethnicity, or national origin
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
These are the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. We do not discriminate against any patient, employee, or member of the public on any of these grounds.
Our EDI commitments in practice
- We provide weight management services to patients of all genders. Our clinical team is trained to treat all patients with dignity and without assumption.
- We make reasonable adjustments for patients with disabilities — including adjustments to how we communicate, how we deliver medicines, and how we handle clinical consultations.
- We recognise that weight management is a clinically and emotionally sensitive area. We are committed to providing care that is free from stigma, judgment, or bias about body weight or size.
- We do not require patients to disclose their gender, ethnicity, or any other protected characteristic as a condition of receiving care, except where it is clinically necessary (for example, biological sex may be relevant to prescribing decisions).
- Where clinical decisions are informed by characteristics such as sex assigned at birth, we explain why this information is needed and handle it in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
- We monitor our service for disparities in access, experience, and outcomes, and take action where inequalities are identified.
If you believe you have been discriminated against
If you believe you have been treated unfairly or discriminated against in connection with our service — whether in how you were spoken to, how your complaint was handled, or how your clinical care was provided — please tell us:
- Raise it as part of your complaint using the contact details above
- Contact our Superintendent Pharmacist directly at team@boltpharmacy.co.uk, marked for the attention of Phuong Nguyen
- Contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) for independent advice: www.equalityadvisoryservice.com or telephone 0808 800 0082
Any complaint raising a discrimination concern will be escalated to our Superintendent Pharmacist and reviewed independently of the person or team involved.
Confidentiality
All complaints are handled in strict confidence. Information about your complaint will only be shared with those who need to be involved in investigating or responding to it. We handle all complaint-related personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and UK GDPR.
Learning from complaints
We record and review all complaints to identify trends and improve our service. Where a complaint reveals a systemic issue, we take corrective action and document the change. Our Superintendent Pharmacist reviews complaint outcomes regularly as part of our clinical governance framework.
Regulatory information
Bolt Pharmacy is the trading name of Bolt Healthcare Ltd (company number 15149039), registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) under registration number 9013085. Superintendent Pharmacist: Phuong Nguyen (GPhC: 2204151).
Clinical consultations and prescribing are provided by AIOS Technology Ltd, registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), location ID 1-25516432019.
Bolt Healthcare Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under registration number ZB678271.
