Blackwater Law personal injury solicitors successfully obtained £3.2million compensation for Mr Irving who suffered serious spinal injuries and was left disabled after falling down stairs.
Posted on 4th July 2025
You have the right to make a complaint about any aspect of NHS care, treatment or service, and this is written into the NHS Constitution on GOV.UK.
The NHS encourages feedback because it’s used to improve services. If you wish to share your views and experiences, positive or negative, simply speak to a member of staff.
If you’re unhappy with an NHS service, it’s often worthwhile discussing your concerns early on with the provider of the service, as they may be able to sort the issue out quickly.
Many service providers have feedback forms available on their premises or websites. Sometimes the NHS will ask for your feedback.
Most problems can be dealt with at this stage, but in some cases you may feel more comfortable speaking to someone not directly involved in your care.
Making a formal complaint about NHS care/treatment
Complaints should normally be made to the healthcare provider within 12 months of an incident or of it coming to your attention, the time limit can be extended provided you have good reasons for not making the complaint sooner and it’s still possible to complete a fair investigation.
Details of where you should send your complaint will usually be provided on the healthcare provider’s website.
You can make a complaint verbally, in writing or by email. If you make your complaint verbally, a record of your complaint will be made and you’ll be provided with a written copy. If you’re complaining on behalf of someone else, include their written consent with your letter (if you’re making your complaint in writing) as this will speed up the process.
If the person cannot give their consent, for example, if they have died or lack mental capacity, or are a child who cannot complain for themselves, you may be able to complain for them.
In addition to sending a complaint to the healthcare provider, you may also wish to complain to your local Integrated Care Board (ICB). ICBs are NHS organisations responsible for planning health services for their local population. They manage the NHS budget and work with local providers of NHS services, such as hospitals and GPs. You can find details of your local ICB using the link below.
Find your local integrated care board (ICB) – NHS
You may also wish to provide feedback to Healthwatch about the health care you have received, whether good or bad. Healthwatch is an independent statutory body, a health and social care champion, that ensures patient feedback is listened to by NHS leaders and other decision makers to improve care.
A complaint response may provide your solicitors with helpful information if you decide to pursue a claim for clinical negligence.
Complaints – what you need to provide
Provide as much information as possible to allow the healthcare provider to investigate your complaint. Include the following:
- your name and a valid email or home address for reply
- a phone number in case we need to contact you for additional information
- the name, location, and postal address (if you know it) of the service you want to complain about
- a clear description of what you want to complain about and when this happened
- any relevant correspondence
What to expect
You should expect an acknowledgement and the offer of a discussion about the handling of your complaint within 3 working days of receiving your complaint.
If you accept, the discussion should cover the period within which a response to your complaint is likely to be sent.
There’s no set timeframe for responding, and this will depend on the nature of your complaint.
If, in the end, the response is delayed for any reason, you should be kept informed.
Once your complaint has been investigated, you’ll receive a written response.
The response should set out the findings and, where appropriate, provide apologies and information about what’s being done as a result of your complaint.
It should also include information about how the complaint has been handled and details of your right to take your complaint to the relevant ombudsman.
If you’re considering making a complaint but need help
Many issues can be resolved quickly by speaking directly to the staff at the place where you received care or accessed a service.
Some people find it helpful to talk to someone who understands the complaints process first and get some guidance and support.
The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) is a free, confidential and independent service that you’ll find in most hospitals.
You can speak with a PALS staff member, who’ll try to help you resolve issues informally with the hospital without the need to make a complaint.
PALS can be particularly helpful if your issue is urgent and you need action immediately, such as a problem with the treatment or care you receive while in hospital.
If you’re making, or thinking about making, a complaint, you could get free help from an NHS complaints advocate.
An advocate can help you to write a complaint letter and attend meetings with you, but cannot make the complaint for you or give medical or legal advice.
You can get free help from an NHS complaints advocate at any stage of the process. If you decide you need some support, it’s never too late to ask for help. Search online for ‘NHS complaints advocacy’ in your area or contact your local Healthwatch to find out who provides NHS complaints advocacy in your area.
Complaining about adult social care services
If you’re unhappy with a social care service, care/nursing home or home care and you’re paying for your own care, you may want to speak to the service provider first.
But if you want to make a complaint, the organisations that provide these services will have their own complaints arrangements.
If your care is funded or arranged by your local council, you may wish to raise the issues with the care provider in the first instance.
If you’d prefer not to do that, you can raise your concerns directly with your local council. You can find details of your local council using the link below.
Find your local council – GOV.UK
Complaining about the use of the Mental Health Act
If you wish to make a complaint about a mental health service, you should either contact the service provider or the commissioner (who pays for the service) and this would usually be your local ICB.
If you wish to complain about the use of the Mental Health Act and care received while detained in hospital, on a guardianship, or under a community treatment order, complain to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Find out how to complain about the use of the Mental Health Act on the CQC website
If you’re not happy with the outcome of your complaint
If your problem persists or you’re not happy with the way your complaint has been dealt with locally, you can complain to the relevant ombudsman.
Healthcare
If you’ve reached the end of the complaints process and are not happy with the organisation’s final decision, you have the right to bring your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to look at.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman makes final decisions on unresolved complaints about the NHS in England. This organisation is independent of the NHS.
For more information, call their helpline on 0345 015 4033 or visit the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website.
Social care
You have the right to take your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), which is independent of local authorities and care providers.
For more information, call their helpline on 0300 061 0614 or visit the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman website.
Complaints about professional misconduct
The NHS complaints procedure is separate from the professional disciplinary procedure. If you consider that a medical professional should be disciplined because of the care they have provided, you may wish to complain to their regulatory body, instead of or in addition to making a complaint.
There is a helpful leaflet prepared by the General Medical Council explaining which regulatory body is responsible for monitoring each profession together with contact details for all the regulatory bodies, which you can access by the link below.
‘Who regulates health and social care professionals’ on the General Medical Council (GMC) website.
Complaints about private healthcare/treatment
If you have concerns about privately-funded healthcare services, you should first speak with the clinician who has provided your treatment for an explanation or advice. If the clinician is unhelpful or does not address your concerns, you can complain to the private clinic or hospital. By law, a private healthcare provider must have their own complaints procedure.
If you remain dissatisfied when they have replied to your complaint, you may be able to go to the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS). They have a Complaints Code of Practice which includes an independent adjudication service (a service to help sort out disputes) as the final stage of the complaint process.
To find out whether the organisation you have a complaint about is a subscriber to ISCAS and get their complaint forms by using the link below.
If you cannot get a complaint response from the private healthcare provider, or you are unhappy with their response, you can make a complaint to the CQC.
