Patient Experience

Talk to us about your experience, both good and when it’s not so good!

Talk to our Care Navigators and explain to them what you want to feedback.

They may say you can:

talk to us (A member of our Senior Team will speak to you initially)

write to us

fill in a form

Talk to us as soon as you can.

You must complain within 12 months of the date of the event that you’re complaining about.

It is fine to make a complaint. No one will treat you badly because of it.

Be clear about the problem.

If you have a formal complaint to make, it is always advisable to try and resolve an issue directly with the us in the first instance.

You have the right to make a complaint about any aspect of NHS care, treatment or service.

Support making your complaint

If you need support to make a complaint you can contact

PALS 0191 404 1072 (local)

POhWER is a charity that helps people to be involved in decisions being made about their care. Call POhWER’s support centre on 0300 456 2370 for advice.

The Advocacy People gives advocacy support. Call 0330 440 9000 for advice or text PEOPLE to 80800 and someone will get back to you.

VoiceAbility gives advocacy support. Call their helpline on 0300 303 1660 for advice or use VoiceAbility’s online referral form.

Contact your local Age UK to see if they have advocates in your area. Visit Age UK online or call 0800 055 6112.

What if you’re still not happy?

If you’re unhappy with the result of your complaint you can appeal to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. This cannot be your first port of call. You must first complain to us or to NHS England. The Ombudsman can only help if:

the GP practice or NHS England have finished looking at your complaint

or your complaint has not been sorted out after 6 months

telephone 0345 015 4033

email phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk

www.ombudsman.org.uk/make-a-complaint

By law you need to contact the Ombudsman within a year of the incident you are complaining about. If it was more than a year ago they may still be able to help if there were good reasons for the delay.