Making a
complaint
about the
NHS
Version 4
Produced in October 2011
Revision date Spring 2012
Ayrshire
& Arran
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In the NHS in Scotland, we try to give you the best
possible care and treatment. We value comments,
good or bad, to help us improve the service. If you
are not happy about anything, please let us know.
This leaflet explains how to complain using the NHS
complaints procedure.
What can I complain about?
Things you can complain about include:
care or treatment you have had or are having in
the NHS
anything to do with the place where you are seen,
for example a doctor’s surgery, a hospital, a prison
health centre or an ambulance
any member of NHS staff involved in your care
how our services in your local area are organised,
if this has affected your care or treatment.
If your complaint also involves another part of the
NHS or another organisation, such as social services,
we may need to pass it to someone there. We will tell
you who is dealing with your complaint.
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What can’t I complain about?
There are some things you can’t complain about
through the NHS complaints procedure.
These include:
private health care or treatment
services not provided or funded by the NHS, and
something you are taking legal action about.
The NHS complaints procedure doesn’t usual y provide
financial compensation. For advice about financial
compensation, you should contact your local citizens
advice bureau or a solicitor.
Who can complain?
You can complain if you have:
had or are having NHS care or treatment, or
visited or used our services or facilities.
You can complain for someone else if you:
have their agreement to complain − the patient would
also need to agree that staff could look at their health
records if necessary
are a child’s parent, guardian or main carer and your
child is not mature enough to understand how to
make a complaint
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have a welfare power of attorney or a welfare
guardianship order for someone who cannot make
decisions for themselves, and the order specifies
that you have the power to make a complaint about
health care
are a relative of, or had a relationship with, a patient
who has died and you were concerned about how
they were treated before they died, or
are acting as an advocate for the patient (see page 8
for more about advocacy).
How long do I have to make a complaint?
We have a time limit for complaints. Normal y, you
must make your complaint:
within six months of the event you want to complain
about, or
within six months of you finding out that you have a
reason to complain − but no longer than 12 months
after the event.
However, if you feel the time limit should not apply to
your complaint, please speak to the person dealing
with the complaint. Sometimes we can accept a
complaint after the time limit.
You can complain to the Scottish Public Services
Ombudsman about a decision by the NHS not
to accept your complaint (see page 9 for more
information).
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How to complain
What should I do?
If you can, first talk to a member of staff involved
in your care. If you do this, we can try to sort out
your complaint on the spot.
If you are not able to talk to the NHS staff involved
in your care, you can ask to speak to a senior
member of staff or the complaints officer for the
NHS organisation involved.
You can complain in person, by phone, or in writing.
When complaining, you should give:
your full name and address (and the patient’s
name and address if you are complaining for
them), and
as much helpful information as possible about
what happened, where it happened and when.
You can also make your complaint by fax,
email or textphone (if available), but if you do this
other people may be able to see your personal
information.
Who should I complain to?
You should first complain directly to the person or
organisation providing the service.
If you do not feel able to do this, contact your local
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NHS board to find out who can help you with your
complaint – see page 10 of the leaflet.
If your complaint is about NHS 24 or the Golden
Jubilee National Hospital, you should first speak to
the person who was dealing with you. If you do not
feel able to do this, speak to the complaints officer at
the organisation. The contact details are on page 11.
If your complaint is about the Scottish Ambulance
Service, you should complain to their headquarters.
The contact details are on page 11.
If your complaint is about the State Hospital, you
should complain to the complaints officer there.
The contact details are on page 12.
What happens after I have complained?
We will write to you within three working days of
getting your complaint.
This letter should:
tell you what action we will take to look into
your complaint
offer you the chance to talk to a member of
staff about the complaint
give you information about independent advice
and support (see page 7 for more information),
and
give you information about conciliation or
mediation services if this may be helpful
(see page 8 for more information).
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We will keep information about you confidential.
To investigate your complaint, we may have to
talk to other NHS staff about you or show them
your health records. If you don’t want us to share
information from your health records, you should
tell us when you make your complaint, but bear
in mind that this may make it more difficult to look
into your complaint.
We will make a record of your details and
complaint, and use it to help us make services
better.
When will I get a full response?
We will write to you with a full response within
20 working days of receiving your complaint.
If your complaint is about a GP surgery, an NHS
dental surgery, an NHS optician’s practice, or a
pharmacy, we will respond within 10 working days.
In some cases, we may need more time to give you
a full response and won’t be able to keep to these
timescales. If this happens, we will let you know and
tell you why.
In our response we will let you know the result of our
investigation. We will:
show that we have looked into your complaint
and reply to all the points raised in it
offer you an apology where things have gone
wrong
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explain what we will do to stop what you
complained about happening again
if necessary, explain why nothing more can be
done about some parts of your complaint
offer you the chance to talk to a member of staff if
there is anything in the letter you don’t understand,
and
include information about the Scottish Public
Services Ombudsman in case you are unhappy
with our response and want to take things further
(see page 9 for more information).
Who can help me with my complaint?
Independent advice and support
If you would like to speak to someone for advice or help
with making a complaint please ask a member of staff
for details about the Independent Advice and Support
Service (IASS) which is available through local citizens
advice bureaux. See page 10 for contact details.
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Advocacy
If you find it difficult to make a complaint yourself and
want someone to speak for you, you can ask for an
independent advocate. An independent advocate is
someone from outside the NHS who can speak for
you or help you express your views. Your local NHS
board or complaints officer will be able to tell you
about advocacy services in your area.
Conciliation or mediation
Conciliation or mediation means bringing people
together to try to resolve a problem.
An independent conciliator or mediator can try to
help you and the person you have complained about
agree what should happen next.
Conciliation or mediation can only be used if you and
the person you’ve complained about both agree to it.
To find out more about conciliation or mediation,
please ask the person who is dealing with your
complaint.
What if I change my mind after I’ve complained?
You can change your mind about making a complaint
at any time. Please let us know as soon as possible.
It would be helpful if you could write and tell us, but
otherwise a phone call will do.
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What if I’m not happy about the way
the NHS has handled my complaint?
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO)
If the NHS has ful y investigated your complaint and
you are still not happy, you can ask the SPSO to
consider your complaint further.
The SPSO cannot normal y look at complaints
more than 12 months after you became aware of
the matter you want to complain about. Sometimes
this time limit will not apply. Please contact the
SPSO for more information.
The SPSO cannot look at matters that have been
or are being considered in court.
If you are not happy with the way the NHS is dealing
with your complaint, for example if you think it is taking
too long, you can contact the SPSO.
The Ombudsman does not take up all cases and will
decide whether or not to investigate your complaint
further.
See page 12 to find out how to contact the
Ombudsman.
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How to find out more
For more information about anything in this leaflet,
contact:
the NHS inform Helpline on
0800 22 44 88 (textphone 18001 0800 22 44 88)
your local citizens advice bureau (CAB) using the
phone numbers below. You can also contact a
bureau for independent advice and support.
Arran CAB: 01294 467 848
East Ayrshire CAB: 01563 544 744
Irvine CAB: 01294 278 051
Largs CAB: 01475 673 586
Saltcoats CAB: 01294 467 848
Direct line for independent advice and support:
0800 328 2519 (freephone)
If you want to visit your local bureau you can find
the address on the internet (
www.cas.org.uk).
If you want to complain about NHS services in
Ayrshire and Arran, contact:
Patient Relations and Complaints Department
NHS Ayrshire & Arran
Eglinton House
Ailsa Hospital
Dalmellington Road
Ayr
KA6 6AB
10
Phone
01292 513 620
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Scottish Ambulance Service
To complain about the ambulance service, contact:
General Manager
Scottish Ambulance Service (South West Division)
Maryfield Road
Ayr
KA8 9DF
Phone
01292 284 101
NHS 24
To complain about NHS 24, contact:
Patient Customer Relations Department
NHS 24
Caledonia House
Fifty Pitches Road
Cardonald Park
Glasgow
G51 4ED
Phone
0141 337 4501
Golden Jubilee National Hospital
To complain about the Golden Jubilee National Hospital,
contact:
Risk Manager
NHS National Waiting Times Centre Board
Golden Jubilee National Hospital
Agamemnon Street
Clydebank
Glasgow
G81 4DY
Phone
0141 951 5154
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State Hospital
To complain about the State Hospital, contact:
Complaints Officer
The State Hospital
Carstairs
Lanark
ML11 8RP
Phone
01555 842 200
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO)
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
Freepost EH641
Edinburgh
EH3 0BR
Phone
0800 377 7330
Text message
07900 494 372
Email
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Website
www.spso.org.uk
Information about health rights
Confidentiality – it’s your right explains how the
NHS protects your personal health information.
How to see your health records explains your right
to see or have a copy of your health record.
The NHS and You explains what you can expect
from the NHS in Scotland, and what the NHS expects
from you.
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Consent – it’s your decision explains how you
should be involved in decisions about your health
care and treatment.
Health care for overseas visitors is a set of
factsheets explaining what NHS services overseas
visitors can expect to receive while they are in
Scotland.
Information for young people
Consent – your rights explains how you should
be involved in decisions about your health care and
treatment.
Confidentiality – your rights tel s you how the health
service keeps information about you private.
Have your say! Your right to be heard tel s you how
to give feedback or make a complaint about the NHS.
Information for carers
Caring and consent explains your right to be
involved in decisions about the health care of the
adult you care for.
You can get this information from:
GP and dental surgeries, hospitals and other places
where you get NHS care
the NHS inform Helpline on
0800 22 44 88 (textphone 18001 0800 22 44 88)
www.hris.org.uk
your local citizens advice bureau (find your nearest
bureau on the internet at
www.cas.org.uk or in your
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local phone book).
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Your comments please!
We want to know what you think about this leaflet.
Please give us your comments:
by post to HRIS, Consumer Focus Scotland,
FREEPOST GW5277, Glasgow G1 3BR
by emailing us at
xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
by visiting our website at
www.hris.org.uk and
clicking on the ‘contact us’ link, or
by phoning us on
0141 226 5261.
We have tried our best to make sure that the
information in this leaflet is correct. However, the
leaflet is for guidance only so you should not rely on
it as a full statement of the law. If you are thinking
about taking legal action, you should contact a
solicitor, a citizens advice bureau or other advice
agency.
Produced by Health Rights Information Scotland,
a project of Consumer Focus Scotland, for the
Scottish Government Health Directorates.
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To get this leaflet in another language or format, phone
your local NHS board on 0800 169 1441.
www.hris.org.uk
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