Submitting data

Each integrated care board (ICB) will be invited by email to make a primary care complaints return on the NHS England Strategic Data Collection System (SDCS). 

ICBs using the system for the first time should have received an email inviting them to register to access SDCS.

Please note that the SDCS KO41b collection form was developed to collect complaints data directly from GP practices, which is why the terminology within the collection may often refer to ‘GP’ data. However, in the context of collecting complaints from ICBs the KO41b collection covers primary care complaints (GP and dental).

If you have not used SDCS previously please click 'Register' on the login page and complete the registration form:

Once you have registered you should see the following dashboard.

To access the KO41b form please click 'Submissions' and then 'New'. 

Select 'KO41b GP complaints' from the collection dropdown and click the 'Create' button.

Once you have clicked 'Create' you will be taken to the KO41b form. Select the ICB you are submitting data for and then click ‘Continue’.

When you have chosen your ICB select 'GP Complaints (KO41B) 2024-25' and click 'Continue'.

To begin the return select the green 'Create New Record' button, or also select 'Start' under the 'Action' heading.

You will then be able to proceed through each section of the KO41b form. There are 5 separate sections which require data:

1. Summary Information
2. Age of Patient
3. Status of Complainant
4. Subject Area
5. Staff Group

At the end of each section press 'Save and continue' to proceed to the next section.

All boxes in the 'Summary information' section require a value to be entered, 0 (zero) should be entered if there are no values for a field.

The summary information for complaints received refers to new complaints received during 2024-25 and open complaints brought forward from the previous year (2023-24).

In the 'Total Brought Forward' box enter the total number of written complaints which remained unresolved at the end of the 2023-24 reporting period, and which are being brought forward into the 2024-25 year. These complaints may have been received in any previous year and should be counted in the total B/F regardless of when they were received. 

In the 'Total New' box enter the total number of new written complaints received during 2024-25.

For the total of new complaints in 2024-25 and complaints brought forward from 2023-24, enter the number of those investigated and resolved in 2024-25. Resolved complaints should be recorded as either 'Upheld', 'Partially Upheld' or 'Not Upheld'.

Number upheld: Where substantive evidence is found to support the complaint, then the complaint should be recorded as upheld.

Number partially upheld: Where a complaint is made about several issues, if one or more of these (but not all) are upheld then the complaint should be recorded as partially upheld.

Number not upheld: Where there is no evidence to support any aspects of a complaint made, the complaint should be recorded as not upheld.

The 'Total Resolved' value will be completed automatically and will be equal to the sum of the values entered in the ‘Number Upheld’, ‘Number Partially Upheld’ and ‘Number Not Upheld’ boxes. This will be the total number of complaints resolved during 2024-25.

The 'Total Carried Forward' value will also be completed automatically. This is the number of unresolved complaints which are the ‘Total Carried Forward’ to the next reporting period. This is the sum of ‘Total Brought Forward’ and ‘Total New Complaints’ less those ‘Total Resolved’. ((Total Brought Forward + Total New) – Total Resolved)

In the example below the organisation has 5 new complaints in the year, 2 are upheld and 2 are not upheld. The 'Total Resolved' and 'Total Carried Forward' values have been automatically calculated based on the values entered.

Click 'Save and Continue' and proceed to the next section.

For new complaints only, enter the number of complaints received by the age of the patient by or on behalf of whom the complaint is made. Each box requires a value to be entered, 0 (zero) should be entered if there are no values for a field.

The ‘Total New Complaints’ value entered in the Summary Information section is displayed at the bottom of this section. The sum of the separate age categories must equal this or you will be unable to continue.

When completed click 'Save and Continue' to proceed to the next section.

For new complaints only, enter the number of complaints received by complainant status (who the complaint is made by). Each box requires a value to be entered, 0 (zero) should be entered if there are no values for a field.

The 'Total New Complaints' value entered in the Summary Information section is displayed at the bottom of this section. The sum of the separate Complainant categories must equal this or you will be unable to continue.

When completed click 'Save and Continue' and proceed to the next section.

For new complaints only, enter the breakdown of complaints received by subject area. The 'Subject Area' section of the form uses a two-step process:

1. Tick the box of any appropriate categories where you have values
2. Then enter that value in the box that appears.

(See an example of this two-stage process in the Other KO41b form information section)

Only positive whole numbers should be entered. Any unticked boxes will be automatically counted as 0 (zero), therefore only tick and enter values in the boxes that are relevant.

The 'Subject Area Total' box will be completed automatically, and the sum of the separate subject categories must be equal to, or greater than the 'Total New Complaints' total (which is also displayed at the bottom of this section), or you will be unable to continue.

A complaint can be made concerning more than one subject area. Where this has occurred, record the complaint under each relevant subject. Therefore, the 'Subject Area Total' must be equal to or greater than the 'Total New Complaints' received in the period.

When completed click 'Save and Continue' and proceed to the next section.

For new complaints only, enter the breakdown of complaints received by staff group. For the 'Staff Group' section the form also uses a two-step process:

1. Tick the box of any appropriate categories where you have values.
2. Then enter that value in the box that appears.

(See an example of this two-stage process in the Other KO41b form information section)

Only positive whole numbers should be entered. Any unticked boxes will be automatically counted as 0 (zero), therefore only tick and enter values in the boxes that are relevant.

The 'Staff Group Total' box will be completed automatically, and the sum of the separate staff group categories must be equal to, or greater than the 'Total New Complaints' total (which is also displayed at the bottom of this section), or you will be unable to continue.

A complaint can be made concerning more than one staff group category. Where this has occurred, record the complaint under each relevant staff group. The 'Staff Group Total' therefore must be equal to or greater than the 'Total New Complaints' received in the period.

Where a staff group cannot easily be assigned then these should be recorded under ‘Other/No Staff Involved’.

Complaints against the 'General Practitioner' or 'General Dental Practitioner' should be recorded under 'Practitioner'.

When completed click 'Save and Continue' and proceed to the next section, which is a review of the overall return.

Before submitting the data to NHS England there is an opportunity to review and change any aspects of the KO41b form on the final checking screen, by clicking 'Change'. This will take you back to the relevant part of the submission to make any amendments. If only making an amendment to a single value or section, once complete you can select 'Save and Skip to Summary' which will take you directly back to the review page. To avoid data being lost during this process, you may want to screenshot or image save this section to refer back to the values entered without having to re-open the return. See 'Editing a return after submission' section below for more information. 

If the data is correct, press 'Submit' which sends the completed data to NHS England.

Once you have submitted you will be presented with the ‘Form Submitted’ screen and provided with a reference number, please keep a copy of the reference in case you need to contact NHS England with regards to your submission.

After completion and submission of your return you will be able to amend up until the end of the submission period. Log into the system and your record will still be visible.

By selecting 'Edit' under the Action heading you will be able to edit and re-submit the submission as required. 

If editing and making changes OR reviewing and not making changes to an already submitted return the following steps must be followed to avoid potential data loss:

Select ‘Save and Continue’ on every page of the return.

Select ‘Submit’ on the final 'Check your answers before sending page'.

Failure to perform these steps if editing OR reviewing a submitted return can result in loss of the data.