Within the hospital
Making A Complaint
If something has gone badly wrong in hospital, for example a medical professional has endangered your child through their actions, you may want to make a complaint. You are absolutely within your rights to make a formal complaint about an individual or a hospital at any point.
There are different, increasingly serious, ways you can do this.
Within the hospital
Some hospitals have family liaison teams who you can talk to as a first stage of the complaint process. This can allow complaints to be resolved at a more informal stage. Ask your bedside nurse whether your hospital has a family liaison team.
Every hospital has a Patient Advisory and Liaison Service (PALS). PALS offer confidential advice, support and information on health-related matters.They are usually available 09.00-17.00, Monday to Friday but can be hard to find! The quickest way to find them is to ask at your hospital’s main reception desk.
You can write or speak to the person who runs the service or team which you are complaining about. This might be the person in charge of the ward or unit your child is on, or it might be the head of a specialist team (e.g. physiotherapists). Ask your bedside nurse who the right person is. If you want to complain about your bedside nurse, ask at the nurses station.
You can also complain in writing to the Chief Executive of the NHS Trust for your hospital. You should be able to find their name and contact details on the hospital website, or ask at the hospital’s main reception desk.
When a patient suffers accidental harm, the hospital where it happened has a duty to investigate what caused it. This should be a fair process, making a genuine attempt to find out what happened and to apologise where justified. These are known as a “serious incident requiring investigation” (SIRI) or a “Significant Event” (SEA). If the hospital have’t started their own investigation, you can request one. If the hospital won’t do this or you are dissatisfied with the outcome, you can request an independent investigation. However, the bar for an independent investigation is quite high. NHS England has more information here.
External Options
External Options
If you have not been able to resolve your complaint within the Trust, you can complain to the relevant Ombudsman.
- England: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
- Wales: Public Service Ombudsman for Wales
- Scotland: Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
- Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman
You may consider taking legal action. If your child been injured as a result of negligent medical treatment, you may be able to take legal action for compensation. You can also take legal action for other reasons, e.g. if you or your child were discriminated against or your human rights were violated. You don’t have to use the NHS complaints procedure before starting legal action but you may find it helpful to use it to find out more about what has happened, though taking legal action shouldn’t normally prevent or delay your complaint being investigated if you want it to be. Legal actions can be expensive and time-consuming and you’ll need expert advice before you consider taking legal action.
If you are complaining about an individual, you can also get in touch with their professional body:
- Doctors: General Medical Council
- Nurses and Midwives: Nursing and Midwifery Council
- Other health and care professionals (including specialists): Health and Care Professions Council
Getting Help to Make a Complaint
Getting Help to Make a Complaint
Confident Conversations cannot currently support parents in making individual complaints. The following charities all offer independent and impartial support to help you make a complaint, and they can also support you through the process.
- Voiceability: NHS Complaints Advocacy. You can find their toolkit on ‘how to complain about NHS care’ here.
- POhWER: NHS Complaints Advocacy
- You can also contact your local Healthwatch (or Healthcare Improvement Scotland, if you are in Scotland) to find out how to get help with making your complaint.
- The Medical Mediation Foundation is dedicated to resolving conflicts in health and social care. You can find their free mediation guide for parents here.
More Information and Support
More Information and Support
- Action Against Medical Accidents: the charity for patient safety and justice
- Action Against Medical Accidents: the charity for patient safety and justice