Giving feedback or making a complaint about the ... - NHS Lanarkshire

In the NHS in Scotland, we try to give you the bestpossible care and treatment. You can help us improveservices by giving your views, good as well as bad.This leaflet explains:l how to give feedback, make comments or raiseconcerns about the health care you receive, andl how to complain using the NHS complaints procedure.Giving feedback about the NHSTell us about anything that is important to youFor example:l If you’re in hospital or have been recently, you maywant to tell us what you think about the care andtreatment you received, or about the food or the ward.l You may want to tell us about something we’ve done well.l You may be concerned that you don’t have enoughinformation about the care and treatment offered orabout visiting hours, car parking or opening times.How can I give my feedback?1You can give your feedback by:l talking to a member of staff involved in your carel filling in a patient survey or questionnairel phoning the NHS inform Helpline on 0800 22 44 88l telling the Patient Advice & Support Service (PASS)(see page 10 for contact details)

l putting your comments in a suggestion box, orl contacting your NHS board (see page 10 for howto do this).What happens to my feedback?We will use your feedback to improve the serviceswe provide.Making a complaint about the NHSWhat can I complain about?Things you can complain about include:l care or treatment you have had or are having inthe NHSl anything to do with the place where you are seen,for example a doctor’s surgery, a hospital, a dentalpractice, an optician, a pharmacy, a prison healthcentre or an ambulancel any member of NHS staff involved in your carel 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 theNHS or another organisation, such as social services,we may need to pass it to someone there. We will tellyou who is dealing with your complaint.2

What can’t I complain about?There are some things you can’t complain aboutthrough the NHS complaints procedure, including:l private health care or treatmentl services not provided or funded by the NHS, andl anything you are taking legal action about.The NHS complaints procedure doesn’t usually providefinancial compensation. The independent Patient Advice& Support Service may be able to tell you where to getinformation about specialist solicitors who handle medicalnegligence claims. See page 10 for contact details.Who can complain?3You can complain if you have:l had or are having NHS care or treatmentl visited or used our services or facilities, orl been affected or are likely to be affected bysomething we have or haven’t done.You can complain for someone else if you:l have their agreement to complain − the patient wouldalso need to agree that staff could look at their healthrecords if necessaryl are a child’s parent, guardian or main carer and yourchild is not mature enough to understand how tomake a complaint

l have a welfare power of attorney or a welfareguardianship order for someone who cannot makedecisions for themselves, and the order specifiesthat you have the power to make a complaint abouthealth carel are a relative of, or had a relationship with, a patientwho has died and you are concerned about howthey were treated before they died, orl are acting as an advocate for the patient (see page8 for more about advocacy).How long do I have to make a complaint?We have a time limit for complaints. Normally, youmust make your complaint:l within six months of the event you want to complainabout, orl within six months of finding out that you have areason to complain − but no longer than 12 monthsafter the event.However, if you feel the time limit should not apply toyour complaint, please speak to the person dealingwith the complaint. Sometimes we can accept acomplaint after the time limit.You can complain to the Scottish Public ServicesOmbudsman about an NHS decision not to acceptyour complaint (see page 9 for more information).4

How to complainWhat should I do?l If you can, first talk to a member of staff involvedin your care. If you do this, we can try to sort outyour complaint on the spot.l If you are unable to talk to the NHS staff involvedin your care, you can ask to speak to a seniormember of staff or the feedback and complaintsofficer for the NHS organisation involved.l You can complain in person, by phone, or in writing.When complaining, you should give:n your full name and address (and the patient’s nameand address if you are complaining for them), andn as much helpful information as possible aboutwhat happened, where it happened and when.l You can also make your complaint by fax, email ortextphone (if available), but if you do this other peoplemay be able to see your personal information.Who should I complain to?5l You should first complain directly to the person ororganisation providing the service.l If you don’t want to complain directly to healthprofessionals involved in your care, contact your localNHS board to find out who can help you with yourcomplaint – see page 10 of the leaflet for how to do this.

l If your complaint is about NHS 24 or the Golden JubileeNational Hospital, you should first speak to the personwho was dealing with you. If you do not feel able to dothis, speak to the feedback and complaints officer at theorganisation. The contact details are on pages 11 to 12.l If your complaint is about the Scottish AmbulanceService, you should complain to the Feedback andComplaints Officer at their National Headquarters.The contact details are on page 11.l If your complaint is about the State Hospital, youshould complain to the feedback and complaintsofficer there. The contact details are on page 12.What happens after I have complained?l We will try to sort out your complaint on the spot.l If we are unable to do this, we will write to you withinthree working days of getting your complaint.l This letter should:n tell you what action we will take to look intoyour complaintn offer you the chance to talk to a member ofstaff about the complaintn give you information about advice and supportavailable through the Patient Advice & SupportService (see page 10 for more information), andn give you information about mediation servicesif this may be helpful (see page 8 for moreinformation).6

llWe will keep information about you confidential. Toinvestigate your complaint, we may have to talk toother NHS staff about you or show them your healthrecords. If you don’t want us to share informationfrom your health records, you should tell us whenyou make your complaint, but bear in mind this maymake 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?7l We will write to you with a full response within 20working days of receiving your complaint.l In some cases, we may need more time to give youa full response and won’t be able to keep to thesetimescales. If this happens, we will let you know andtell you why.l In our response we will let you know the result of ourinvestigation. We will:n show that we have looked into your complaintand reply to all the points you maken offer you an apology if things have gone wrongn explain what we will do to stop what youcomplained about happening againn if necessary, explain why we cannot do anythingmore about some parts of your complaintn offer you the chance to talk to a member of staff if thereis anything in the letter you don’t understand, and

n include information about the Scottish PublicServices Ombudsman in case you are unhappywith our response or the way we have handledyour complaint and want to take things further(see page 9 for more information).Who can help me with my complaint?Patient advice and supportl If you would like to speak to someone for advice or helpwith making a complaint, please ask a member of staff fordetails about the independent Patient Advice & SupportService, which is available in your area through localcitizens advice bureaux. See page 10 for contact details.Advocacyl If you want someone to help you express yourviews, you can ask for an advocate. An advocate isindependent of the NHS and can help make sure yourviews are heard and get you access to the informationyou need to make your own decisions. Your local NHSboard or the feedback and complaints officer will beable to tell you about advocacy services in your area.Mediationl Mediation means bringing people together to try toresolve a complaint.l An independent mediator will try to help you and theperson you have complained about to agree whatshould happen next.l Mediation can only be used if you and the personyou’ve complained about both agree to it. 8

l To find out more about mediation, please ask theperson who is dealing with your complaint.What if I change my mind after I’ve complained?You can change your mind about making a complaintat any time. Please let us know as soon as possible.It would be helpful if you could write and tell us, butotherwise a phone call will do.What if I’m not happy about the waythe NHS has handled my complaint?9The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO)l If the NHS has fully investigated your complaint andyou are still not happy, you can ask the SPSO toconsider it further.n The SPSO cannot normally look at complaints morethan 12 months after you became aware of thematter you want to complain about. Sometimes thistime limit will not apply. Please contact the SPSOfor more information.n The SPSO cannot look at matters that have beenor are being considered in court.l If you are not happy with the way the NHS is dealingwith your complaint, for example if you think it istaking too long, you can contact the SPSO.l The Ombudsman does not take up all cases andwill decide whether or not to investigate yourcomplaint further.l See page 12 to find out how to contact the Ombudsman.

How to find out morel For more information about anything in this leaflet, contact:n the NHS inform Helpline on 0800 22 44 88(textphone 18001 0800 22 44 88)n your local citizens advice bureau (CAB) using thephone numbers below. You can also contact abureau for patient advice and support.Airdrie CAB: 01236 754 109Bellshill CAB: 01698 748 615Clydesdale CAB: 01555 664 301Coatbridge CAB: 01236 421 447Cumbernauld and Kilsyth CAB: 01236 723 201East Kilbride CAB: 01355 263 698Hamilton CAB: 01698 283 477Motherwell and Wishaw CAB: 01698 251 981l If you want to visit your local bureau, you can findthe address on the internet (www.cas.org.uk).l To complain about services provided by NHSLanarkshire in the community, including the out ofhours service, or for advice on complaining aboutyour GP surgery, NHS dentist, optician or communitypharmacist, please contact:Patient Services DepartmentNHS Lanarkshire HeadquartersKirklands, Fallside Road, Bothwell G71 8BBPhone 01698 858 32110

l To make a complaint about services in HairmyresHospital, contact:Patient Affairs Manager, Hairmyres HospitalEaglesham Road, East Kilbride G75 8RGPhone 01355 585 325l To make a complaint about services in MonklandsHospital, contact:Patient Affairs Manager, Monklands HospitalMonkscourt Avenue, Airdrie ML6 0JSPhone 01236 713 065l To make a complaint about services in WishawGeneral Hospital, contact:Patient Affairs Manager, Wishaw General Hospital50 Netherton Street, Wishaw ML2 0DPPhone 01698 366 558You can also visit the NHS Lanarkshire website atwww.nhslanarkshire.org.uk for more information.Scottish Ambulance ServiceTo complain about the ambulance service, contact:Feedback and Complaints OfficerScottish Ambulance ServiceNational Headquarters, Gyle Square,1 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh EH12 9EBPhone 0131 314 000011NHS 24To complain about NHS 24, contact:Feedback and Complaints OfficerPatient Customer Relations DepartmentNHS 24, Caledonia House, Fifty Pitches RoadCardonald Park, Glasgow G51 4EDPhone 0141 337 4501

Golden Jubilee National HospitalTo complain about the Golden Jubilee National Hospital,contact:Feedback and Complaints Officer (Risk Manager)NHS National Waiting Times Centre BoardGolden Jubilee National HospitalAgamemnon Street, Clydebank, Glasgow G81 4DYPhone 0141 951 5177State HospitalTo complain about the State Hospital, contact:Feedback and Complaints OfficerThe State Hospital, Carstairs, Lanark ML11 8RPPhone 01555 842 200Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO)The Scottish Public Services OmbudsmanFreepost EH641, Edinburgh EH3 0BRPhone 0800 377 7330Text message 07900 494 372Email ask@spso.org.ukWebsite www.spso.org.ukInformation about health rightsl Confidentiality – it’s your right explains how theNHS protects your personal health information.l How to see your health records explains your rightto see or have a copy of your health record.l Consent – it’s your decision explains how youshould be involved in decisions about your healthcare and treatment. 12

13l Health care for overseas visitors is a set of factsheetsexplaining what NHS services overseas visitors canexpect to receive while they are in Scotland.l The Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilitiesis a summary of the rights and responsibilities patientshave when using NHS services in Scotland (availablefrom October 2012).Information for young peoplel Consent – your rights explains how you shouldbe involved in decisions about your health care andtreatment.l Confidentiality – your rights tells you how the healthservice keeps information about you private.l Have your say! Your right to be heard tells you howto give feedback or make a complaint about the NHS.Information for carersl Caring and consent explains your right to beinvolved in decisions about the health care of theadult you care for.You can get this information from:l GP and dental surgeries, hospitals and other placeswhere you get NHS carel the NHS inform Helpline on 0800 22 44 88(textphone 18001 0800 22 44 88)l www.nhsinform.co.uk or www.hris.org.ukl your local citizens advice bureau (find your nearestbureau on the internet at www.cas.org.uk or in yourlocal phone book).

Your comments please!We want to know what you think about this leaflet.Please give us your comments:by post to NHS inform, NHS 24, Golden JubileeNational Hospital, Beardmore Street, ClydebankG81 4HXby emailing us at nhs.inform@nhs24.scot.nhs.ukby visiting our website at www.nhsinform.co.ukand clicking on the ‘contact us’ link, orby phoning us on 0800 22 44 88.We have tried our best to make sure that theinformation in this leaflet is correct. However, theleaflet is for guidance only so you should not rely onit as a full statement of the law. If you are thinkingabout taking legal action, you should contacta solicitor, a citizens advice bureau, the PatientAdvice & Support Service or other advice agency.Produced by NHS informcomplaints (v5)

To get this leaflet in another language or format phone yourlocal NHS board on 08453 130 130.www.hris.org.uk