Do you live in the UK and are unhappy about services that you have received from the National Health Service, or NHS?
If you want to start the NHS complaints process, this article will show you how to do it, when to do it, and, of course, what to do if you are unhappy with the outcome.
Who Can Complain About NHS Services?
If you wish to give feedback or make a complaint about the NHS service, you must fall into the following groups.
Patient- You must have received care or treatment from an NHS service. It does not matter if you received this treatment away from the area you live in; you can begin the complaints process about any service in the NHS, just be sure to include information about the hospital, an NHS GP surgery, dental surgery, or other service and why you attended.
Family Members, Carers, or Representatives- You can complain about the standard of care that a loved one or someone you care for has received. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, you will need to state how you know them, and they will have to give their consent
Time Limitations
When you or a loved one have received NHS care that you are unhappy with, you have 12 months to start the complaints process from the date of the incident, or when you became aware of the issue. Please note that this deadline can be extended, if there is just cause as to why the complaints process was not started in the set timeframe.
Starting the Process
To start the complaints process, you need to raise the complaint with the NHS organisation itself. This could be a GP surgery, a mental health service, and so on. Each department has their own complaints procedure, and if you aren’t sure who you need to contact, please call the Patient Advice and Liaison Service, or PALS, for help.
You can start complaints in writing, electronically, or verbally. When you make a complaint to the NHS, please state clearly what the issues are and what your desired outcome is.
Once the complaint is received, the NHS will acknowledge your complaint within three working days. According to the NHS constitution, an investigation will follow, and you should receive a written response that breaks down the findings. There is no timeframe in the NHS guidelines which states when the issue needs to be resolved, bit you should be given an idea of how long it will take.
If You’re Unhappy with the Outcome
It may be the case that you or the person you represent are unhappy with the outcome. You can escalate the complaint to the parliamentary and health service Ombudsman. The health service ombudsman is independent from the NHS and will carry out their own investigation if necessary. You can contact them via email or telephone at 0345 015 4033. Remember, it is expected that before you contact the Ombudsman, that you will have taken the steps mentioned above and will have proof.
For more information on how to raise a complaint in the NHS, please contact us.
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