Formal complaint about NHS treatment

Hello. I am Gemma, a friendly legal assistant at Lawyer Destroyer. I can certainly help you understand the best way to make a formal complaint about NHS treatment you have received in England or Wales.

The NHS has a specific two-stage complaints procedure. It is usually best to try and resolve things directly with the people who provided your care first, before escalating the matter to an independent body.

Here is a simple guide to the process.

Practical next steps:

1. Consider informal resolution first. If you are complaining about a hospital, you can contact their Patient Advice and Liaison Service, known as PALS. They offer confidential advice, support, and information on health-related matters. They can often step in to resolve concerns quickly before they become a formal complaint.

2. Make a formal local complaint. If PALS cannot help, or if you are dealing with a GP, dentist, or other NHS service, you should move to the first formal stage of the NHS complaints procedure. You can complain directly to the service provider, such as the GP surgery practice manager or the hospital trust. Alternatively, you can complain to the body that commissions the service, such as your local Integrated Care Board. You should submit your complaint to one or the other, rather than to both.

3. Put your complaint in writing. When you make your formal complaint, keep your letter clear and factual. Note down the dates of your treatment, who was involved, exactly what went wrong, and the impact it has had on you. It is also very helpful to state clearly what you want them to do to put things right, such as providing an apology, a detailed explanation of what happened, or evidence that they have changed their procedures to help future patients.

4. Wait for the formal response. The NHS provider or commissioner must acknowledge your complaint, usually within three working days. They will then investigate your concerns and give you a formal written response setting out their findings and what action they plan to take.

5. Escalate to the Ombudsman. If you have reached the end of the local complaints procedure and you are still unhappy with the final response, you can take your complaint to the second and final stage. In England, you would contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. If you are in Wales, you would contact the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. They are completely independent and will assess whether the NHS handled things fairly and reasonably.

Important things to keep in mind:

Time limits: You should normally make your formal complaint within 12 months of the incident happening, or within 12 months of you realising you had something to complain about. The NHS can sometimes waive this time limit if you have a good reason for the delay, but it is always best to act as quickly as possible while memories are fresh and records are easy to locate.

Your goal: It is very helpful to think about what you want to achieve. The NHS complaints procedure is designed to provide explanations, apologies, and to ensure mistakes are not repeated. If instead you are looking for financial compensation because you have suffered a significant injury or financial loss due to a medical mistake, that falls under clinical negligence. Clinical negligence is an entirely separate legal process handled through the courts, which requires specific expert evidence and has a strict strict three-year legal time limit.

Free support is available: You do not have to tackle this alone. In England, you can get free, independent support from the NHS Complaints Advocacy Service. Your local Healthwatch organisation can also point you to the right advocacy services in your local authority area. In Wales, an organisation called Llais provides similar independent support for health and social care complaints.

Please let me know if you would like some help thinking through exactly what to include in your complaint letter, or if you have any questions about how this relates to your specific circumstances.