| https://twitter.com/NHSuk | |
| Complaint Email | – |
| Complaint Phone Number | 0300 311 22 33 |
| Online Complaint Form | https://www.nhs.uk/contact-us/give-feedback-or-make-complaint/ |
| Head Office | NHS Direct Head Office 2nd Floor, 120 Leman Street, London, E1 8EU |
If you live in the UK then you have a right to complain against any aspect of the services provided by the NHS like treatment, care, and hygiene. This is very clearly mentioned in the NHS constitution. Here we intend to guide you through the process of making an NHS complaint. You will learn about the legislations of the necessary arrangements and the requirements to make an NHS complaint.
The administration of the NHS is very open to consumer feedback. They encourage both positive and negative feedback of the consumers to upgrade their services. If you have any ideas or any complaints about how things are at the NHS, then just ask a staff member about their feedback procedure. Other to make an accusation are:
NHS Complaints Procedure
Most of the problems are dealt with immediately just by speaking to a member of the staff but if there is some deeper issue you can follow the following procedures to ensure a response.
PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service)
You will find this in any and all hospitals. If you speak with a pals member, they will try to informally resolve the issue with the hospital so that a formal complaint is not unnecessarily made. This is very helpful especially when your issue is urgent and needs to be resolved immediately. Like a problem in the treatment and or care of the hospital.
Official complaint
The official complaint has to be made within a year of the occurrence of the incident or the incident coming to your attention. The time limit might extend depending on the circumstances, that is if you have a good reason for making the complaint earlier. It is important that the complaint is made within the time in which a fair investigation can be conducted. The complaint manager you are talking to will take the decision on this one.
You can make a written complaint or an email complaint. You can also complain verbally in which case the complaint will be recorded and a written copy will be provided to you. If you are complaining on behalf of someone, provide their written consent with the application. This will help in speeding up the process. If you want some guidance then you can always call the NHS complaint advocacy service.
Expectations
You will receive an offer for a discussion about your complaints. This offer will be sent to you within three working days from when your complaint was received. After you agree to the discussion then it will cover a period of time within this a response to your complaint will be sent. The time frame is not specific as it depends on the nature of your complaint.
Conclusion
If you have faced an issue recently follow the procedures to give feedback and wait for them to respond. If you have any other ideas on how to make an efficient NHS complaint, do share in the comments.