Right Of The Complainant To Turn To The Secretary Of State For Intervention
Dear Department of Health,
The police explain that if I am not happy with the care or treatment I have received or have been refused treatment, I have the right to complain, have right to have my complaint investigated and, be given a full and prompt reply. I was invited to make complaint to the Department of Health some years ago. Despite letters and email messages, the Department fails to confirm whether or not my complaint was investigated.
Trying to escalate my complaint does not help. I would guess referring it to the Ombudsman would only aggravate the situation.
Would you kindly identify any information you hold (a policy document or something else) which identifies the right of the complainant to turn to the Secretary of State for intervention where it can be shown that Department staff act deliberately to frustrate a remedy.
As a general query, does the Department recognise the difficulties some complainants face in making a complaint. Do policies exist dealing with the same?
Yours faithfully,
dominic
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Right Of The Complainant To Turn To The Secretary Of State For Intervention'.
REASON: because it appears, the doH choose not to respond. I attach the original query.
dominic be 13 December 2017
Delivered
Dear Department of Health,
The police explain that if I am not happy with the care or treatment I have received or have been refused treatment, I have the right to complain, have right to have my complaint investigated and, be given a full and prompt reply. I was invited to make complaint to the Department of Health some years ago. Despite letters and email messages, the Department fails to confirm whether or not my complaint was investigated.
Trying to escalate my complaint does not help. I would guess referring it to the Ombudsman would only aggravate the situation.
Would you kindly identify any information you hold (a policy document or something else) which identifies the right of the complainant to turn to the Secretary of State for intervention where it can be shown that Department staff act deliberately to frustrate a remedy.
As a general query, does the Department recognise the difficulties some complainants face in making a complaint. Do policies exist dealing with the same?
Yours faithfully,
dominic
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
Our ref: DE-1119540
Dear Mr Be,
Thank you for your further correspondence of 12 February about making a
complaint to the Department of Health and Social Care. I have been asked
to reply and I apologise for the delay in doing so.
I note your ongoing concerns.
I also note that you also wrote to the Department on this subject on 13
December. However, there is little than I can add to my colleague
Charlene Carter’s reply of 10 February (our ref: DE-1111113). I trust you
have received this reply, but I enclose a copy for ease of reference
underneath this email.
I hope this reply is helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Leigh Smale
Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries
Department of Health and Social Care
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please do not reply to this email. To contact the Department of Health and
Social Care, please visit the [1]Contact DH section on Gov.uk
To receive news about DH: [2]sign up to our monthly newsletter
Our ref: DE-1111113
Dear Mr Be,
Thank you for your correspondence of 13 December about making a complaint
to the Department of Health and Social Care. I have been asked to reply
and I apologise for the delay in doing so.
I was sorry to read of the difficulty you have experienced in making a
complaint about the NHS service you have received. However, the way
services are provided is a matter for the NHS locally. The Department of
Health and Social Care does not play a role in investigating individual
complaints, which must be investigated without political interference to
ensure there is no question of bias. There is an NHS complaints
procedure to resolve concerns and to help local NHS organisations learn
from the experiences of their patients.
For hospital complaints, each hospital trust has a patient advice and
liaison service (PALS) to listen to patients, their relatives and carers,
answer their questions and resolve any concerns as quickly as possible.
The service can also assist you in making a formal complaint should you
wish to do so.
Primary care services are commissioned by NHS England. If you wish to
make a formal complaint about services provided by your GP, you should
write either to the practice manager or to NHS England at the following
address:
Further information on making a complaint is available at the following
link:
[3]www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/complaints-and-feedback/Pages/nhs-complaints.aspx
People who experience difficulty in making complaints can contact their
local branch of Healthwatch England, the national consumer champion in
health and care. The contact details for local Healthwatch organisations
can be found by clicking on the following link:
[4]www.healthwatch.co.uk/find-local-healthwatch
I am sorry I cannot be more directly helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Charlene Carter
Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries
Department of Health and Social Care
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please do not reply to this email. To contact the Department of Health and
Social Care, please visit the [5]Contact DH section on Gov.uk
To receive news about DH: [6]sign up to our monthly newsletter
Incoming and outgoing e-mail messages are routinely monitored for
compliance with the Department of Health's policy on the use of electronic
communications. For more information on the Department of Health's e-mail
policy click here http://www.dh.gov.uk/terms
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This email was scanned by the Symantec virus scanning service and was
certified virus free.
Communications may be automatically logged, monitored and/or recorded for
legal purposes.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
2. http://r1.surveysandforms.com/4c3zqo08-a...
3. http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/complaints-...
4. http://www.healthwatch.co.uk/find-local-...
5. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
6. http://r1.surveysandforms.com/4c3zqo08-a...
Dear Department of Health,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Right Of The Complainant To Turn To The Secretary Of State For Intervention'.
REASON (Feb 2018): because it appears, the doH choose not to respond. I attach the original query.
REASON (subsequent - April 2018): because the doh fails to recognise its involvement preferring to refer me to other orgs.
Thank you for your response.
The Department of Health sought from me and received details of the complaint. That is to say, the DofH received the complaint and dealt with it, not the NHS or other.
My query reads:
....December 2017
Dear Department of Health,
The police explain that if I am not happy with the care or treatment I have received or have been refused treatment, I have the right to complain, have right to have my complaint investigated and, be given a full and prompt reply. I was invited to make complaint to the Department of Health some years ago. Despite letters and email messages, the Department fails to confirm whether or not my complaint was investigated.
Trying to escalate my complaint does not help. I would guess referring it to the Ombudsman would only aggravate the situation.
Would you kindly identify any information you hold (a policy document or something else) which identifies the right of the complainant to turn to the Secretary of State for intervention where it can be shown that Department staff act deliberately to frustrate a remedy.
As a general query, does the Department recognise the difficulties some complainants face in making a complaint. Do policies exist dealing with the same?....
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Right Of The Complainant To Turn To The Secretary Of State For Intervention'.
REASON of June 2018 and Feb 2018: the doH choose not to respond or have not received my message.
REASON of April 2018: the doh fails to recognise its involvement preferring to refer me to other orgs.
Thank you for your response.
The Department of Health sought from me and received details of the complaint. That is to say, the DofH received the complaint and dealt with it not the NHS or other.
My query reads:
....December 2017
Dear Department of Health,
The police explain that if I am not happy with the care or treatment I have received or have been refused treatment I have the right to complain, have right to have my complaint investigated and, be given a full and prompt reply. I was invited to make complaint to the Department of Health some years ago. Despite letters and email messages, the Department fails to confirm whether or not my complaint was investigated.
Trying to escalate my complaint does not help. I would guess referring it to the Ombudsman would only aggravate the situation.
Would you kindly identify any information you hold (a policy document or something else) which identifies the right of the complainant to turn to the Secretary of State for intervention where it can be shown that Department staff act deliberately to frustrate a remedy.
As a general query, does the Department recognise the difficulties some complainants face in making a complaint. Do policies exist dealing with the same?....
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
Our ref: DE-1127902
Dear Mr Be,
Thank you for your correspondence of 10 April and 8 June about complaints.
I have been asked to reply, and I apologise for the delay in doing so.
I was sorry to read that you were dissatisfied with the Department’s
previous responses to your concerns. I should, however, make clear that
the Department and its ministers cannot become involved in, or comment in
detail on, individual matters. Whilst the Department takes each complaint
with the seriousness it deserves, the Department and its ministers are not
able intervene as this could be viewed as political bias. With this in
mind, I should further clarify that it is not within the power of the
Secretary of State to review or comment on the outcomes of an
investigation of an individual complaint.
It is not clear from your recent correspondence what experiences have led
to your dissatisfaction, but my colleague’s email of 10 February (our ref:
DE-1111113), subsequently attached to our further email of 25 March
(DE-1119540), details how best to raise your concerns locally. I would
suggest exploring the options listed in those replies.
Finally, the Freedom of Information Act only applies to recorded
information such as paper or electronic archive material. As your
correspondence asked for general information, rather than requesting
recorded information or documentation, it did not fall under the
provisions of the Act.
I am sorry I cannot be more helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Rory Howard
Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries
Department of Health and Social Care
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please do not reply to this email. To contact the Department of Health and
Social Care, please visit the [1]Contact DH section on Gov.uk
To receive news about DH: [2]sign up to our monthly newsletter
Please note: Incoming and outgoing email messages are routinely monitored
for compliance with our policy on the use of electronic communications.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This email was scanned by the Symantec virus scanning service and was
certified virus free.
Communications may be automatically logged, monitored and/or recorded for
legal purposes.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
2. http://r1.surveysandforms.com/4c3zqo08-a...
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Right Of The Complainant To Turn To The Secretary Of State For Intervention'.
It's a little unclear whether or not you wish to offer remedy: your message last: ..It is not clear from your recent correspondence what experiences have led to your dissatisfaction.. suggests you may be so, may I assume you'd be prepared to receive details with a view to addressing my query; to confirm whether or not my complaint was investigated (ref: check the original query of Dec 2017) F.Y.I. The DoH Whitehall received and acknowledged complaint; it was not redirected so, its a matter for you. I'll await your reply.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
Not sure you received my last message so, here it is again:
6 July 2018
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Right Of The Complainant To Turn To The Secretary Of State For Intervention'.
It's a little unclear whether or not you wish to offer remedy: your message last: ..It is not clear from your recent correspondence what experiences have led to your dissatisfaction.. suggests you may be so, may I assume you'd be prepared to receive details with a view to addressing my query; to confirm whether or not my complaint was investigated (ref: check the original query of Dec 2017) F.Y.I. The DoH Whitehall received and acknowledged complaint; it was not redirected so, its a matter for you. I'll await your reply.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
Dear Mr Be,
Thank you for your email. Your correspondence of 13 December (our ref: DE-1111113), did not fall under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act and was handled as general correspondence. It is therefore not subject to an internal review.
If you wish to complain about the response you received to DE-1111113, please address it to:
Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries Unit
Department of Health and Social Care
39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
Telephone: 0207 210 4850
Fax: 0115 902 3202
I am sorry I cannot be more directly helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Charlene Carter
Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries
Department of Health and Social Care
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Right Of The Complainant To Turn To The Secretary Of State For Intervention'.
According to your latest message of 14 August 2018 (from 'FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care') my correspondence of 13 December did not fall under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act so, it was handled as general correspondence, therefore not subject to internal review.
FYI, my query of 13 December 2017 reads:
....Dear Department of Health,
The police explain that if I am not happy with the care or treatment I have received or have been refused treatment, I have the right to complain, have right to have my complaint investigated and, be given a full and prompt reply. I was invited to make complaint to the Department of Health some years ago. Despite letters and email messages, the Department fails to confirm whether or not my complaint was investigated.
Trying to escalate my complaint does not help. I would guess referring it to the Ombudsman would only aggravate the situation.
Would you kindly identify any information you hold (a policy document or something else) which identifies the right of the complainant to turn to the Secretary of State for intervention where it can be shown that Department staff act deliberately to frustrate a remedy.
As a general query, does the Department recognise the difficulties some complainants face in making a complaint. Do policies exist dealing with the same?....
The Freedom of Information Act applies to recorded information such as paper or electronic archive material. So, accordingly I request recorded information or documentation (such as a policy document) which details (or identifies) the rights of a complainant to turn to the Secretary of State for intervention where it can be demonstrated his Department fails or frustrates administrative process for reasons unclear. The administrative process in this case being but to confirm whether or not a complaint was investigated.
I have no desire to turn to the SOS however his Department has no desire to do its job.
I respectfully ask you kindly adhere to the Act and remind you Section 16 of the same explains your obligation to provide advice and assistance.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Right Of The Complainant To Turn To The Secretary Of State For Intervention'.
Would you kindly confirm whether or not you received my last message of October 2018. Do you plan to offer a response?
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews. I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Right Of The Complainant To Turn To The Secretary Of State For Intervention'.
According to your latest message of 14 August 2018 (from 'Freedom of Information, Department of Health and Social Care') my correspondence of 13 December did not fall under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act so, it was handled as general correspondence, therefore not subject to internal review. My query of 13 December 2017 reads:
....Dear Department of Health,
The police explain that if I am not happy with the care or treatment I have received or have been refused treatment, I have the right to complain, have right to have my complaint investigated and, be given a full and prompt reply. I was invited to make complaint to the Department of Health some years ago. Despite letters and email messages, the Department fails to confirm whether or not my complaint was investigated.
Trying to escalate my complaint does not help. [&] I would guess, referring it to the Ombudsman would only aggravate the situation.
Would you kindly identify any information you hold (a policy document or something else) which identifies the right of the complainant to turn to the Secretary of State for intervention where it can be shown that Department staff act deliberately to frustrate a remedy.
As a general query, does the Department recognise the difficulties some complainants face in making a complaint. Do policies exist dealing with the same?....
The Freedom of Information Act applies to recorded information such as paper or electronic archive material. So, accordingly I request recorded information or documentation (such as a policy document) which details (or identifies) the rights of a complainant to turn to the Secretary of State for intervention where it can be demonstrated his Department fails or frustrates administrative process for reasons unclear. The administrative process in this case being but to confirm whether or not a complaint was investigated. I have no desire to turn to the SOS however his Department has no desire to do its job.
I respectfully ask you kindly adhere to the Act and remind you Section 16 of the same explains your obligation to provide advice and assistance.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
Dear Mr Be,
Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your recent FOI request (our ref: FOI-1166198 )
Yours sincerely,
Maria Reed
Freedom of Information team
Department of Health and Social Care
-------------------------------------------------------------
Please do not reply to this email. To contact the Department of Health and
Social Care, please visit [1]www.gov.uk/dhsc
Please note: Incoming and outgoing email messages are routinely monitored
for compliance with our policy on the use of electronic communications.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This email was scanned by the Sophos anti-virus service.
References
Visible links
1. file:///tmp/www.gov.uk/dhsc
2. https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outl...
June 2019
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Thank you for your message of February 2019 and apologies for delaying this reply.
I understand you do not hold the information so, given there exists no prescribed means to turn to the Secretary of State under the conditions identified*, I ask you but confirm whether or not you'd afford the office of the SOS sight of my query; allow them opportunity to remedy this matter?
* as per previous communication of February 2019
Its noted your suggestion to turn to NHS England. Thank you however, I'd imagine its for the office of the SOS to deal with its own affairs.
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
Our ref: DE-1179717
Dear Mr Be,
Thank you for your further correspondence of 13 June about your request
for the Secretary of State’s intervention in your complaint. I have been
asked to reply.
While I appreciate your continuing concerns, there is nothing I can add to
my colleagues’ previous replies. This remains a matter for NHS England
and I can only reiterate that you may wish to contact it directly.
I am sorry I cannot be more helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Ola Adigun
Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries
Department of Health and Social Care
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please do not reply to this email. To contact the Department of Health and
Social Care, please visit the [1]Contact DHSC section on GOV.UK
To receive news about DHSC: [2]sign up to our monthly newsletter
Please note: Incoming and outgoing email messages are routinely monitored
for compliance with our policy on the use of electronic communications.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This email was scanned by the Sophos anti-virus service.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
2. http://r1.surveysandforms.com/4c3zqo08-a...
3. https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outl...
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
The Department handled the original complaint so, the Department, not NHS England, is competent to answer whether or not the complaint was investigated; it refuses to do so.
I am within my rights to direct my concerns to the SOS. The problem seems to be the Department prefers they not reach the SOS. I believe however the SOS would wish to receive my concerns.
Kindly confirm whether or not you allow me to communicate with the office of the SOS?
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
Our ref: DE-1192726
Dear Mr Be,
Thank you for your further correspondence of 4 October about your request
for the Secretary of State’s intervention in your complaint. I have been
asked to reply and I apologise for the delay in responding.
I can confirm that your correspondence has been brought to the attention
of the Secretary of State’s office. However, as stated in my previous
replies, this remains a matter for NHS England.
I am sorry if this is not the reply that you were hoping for, but as there
is nothing further that the Department can add, we must now consider this
matter to be closed. Unless you raise a new question, any further letters
sent to the Department on this issue will be logged but may not receive a
reply.
Yours sincerely,
Ola Adigun
Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries
Department of Health and Social Care
11 December 2019
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Thank you for your message.
With respect, whether or not its a matter for NHS England, the original complaint sits with you, within the Department of Health. What do you propose?
Yours faithfully,
dominic
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Right Of The Complainant To Turn To The Secretary Of State For Intervention'.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
Having not secured response I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Right Of The Complainant To Turn To The Secretary Of State For Intervention'.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
August 2020
Sending this again. Pleased to receive response:
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Right Of The Complainant To Turn To The Secretary Of State For Intervention'.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
Dear Department of Health and Social Care,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Right Of The Complainant To Turn To The Secretary Of State For Intervention'.
Reason: I've not been able to secure response; is this a technical issue?
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
dominic be
We work to defend the right to FOI for everyone
Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Donate and support our work.
Donate Now