Who do I complain to for medical negligence?

It is always worth trying to speak to someone first at the time of the issue, some complaints may be misunderstandings and raising it as early as possible gives everyone the opportunity  to rectify it.

If your complaint is about the treatment or care you have received in a hospital, speak to the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) they are available in most hospitals. They can often help resolve issues, particularly any urgent issues.

If you’re still not satisfied and wish to make a formal complaint, these are made directly to the service provider, for example a GP, dentist surgery or hospital, each service will have their own complaints procedure the information about this is often in the waiting rooms, at reception, on the service provider’s website, or you can ask a member of staff.

You may prefer to complain to the NHS Commissioner of Services, who pay for the service you receive from the NHS.  If you complain to the Commissioner, you will not be able to complain to the service provider as well. How to complain to the Commissioner varies on the type of service you are not happy about

• For complaints about primary care services such as your GP, dentist, opticians or pharmacy services contact NHS England:
  
• NHS England
  PO Box 16738
  Redditch
  B97 9PTcontactus@nhs.net
  0300 311 22 33
• For complaints about secondary care services such as hospital care, mental health services, out of hours services and community services such as district nursing, contact your local clinical commissioning group
• If your complaint is about public health organisations, like those who provide services which prevent disease, promote health and prolong life, contact your local council
• Finally, if you want to give feedback about the NHS 111 service, you can email contact@nhs.net telling them the location you called from when contacting NHS 111.

If your complaint has remained unresolved you are able to complain to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, but you will need to complain to the service provider directly or the commissioner of services first before taking this step.

You need to make your complaint to the NHS within 12 months of the incident or the matter coming to your attention.  This time limit will only be extended as long as it is still possible to investigate your complaint.

If you received substandard care and it led to a poor outcome you might want to make a claim for compensation, you must do this within 3 years of the incident or the matter becoming apparent.    You don’t have to make a formal complaint to be able to make a medical negligence claim.

It is best to give a complete record of the issues, including any pre-existing conditions and treatment relevant to your complaint to allow the NHS to investigate your complaint. A timeline of your treatment and how your health progressed would be a good start, having this will help you set out where errors might have occurred.  It’s a good idea to get this together as soon after the incident as possible and keep a copy!

To investigate your complaint, the NHS needs the following information:

• Name and a valid email or home address
• A phone number
• The name, location and postal address (if available) of the service you want to complain about
• A clear description of what happened and your complaint
• Any relevant correspondence