Addressing your concerns and complaints

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It is really important to hear feedback, compliments and concerns from patients, carers and families.

Feedback helps us know where things have gone well, respond to any problems, and to keep improving our service.

The best place to share your feedback first is with your care team directly. You can also contact the Carers and Patients Support Hub which is there to listen and respond to a wide range of feedback, answer queries, or signpost you to the right service.

If you are unsure about your care, or unhappy about our services, or want to complain about your care, we will work with you to resolve the issue.

If you can raise your concern directly to the staff involved in your care this is the best way. The staff member will guide you.  If you prefer to talk to someone not involved with the team, you could ask for the Matron or Head of Nursing & Allied Health Professionals, they will also help you. 

If you are not satisfied with our attempts to resolve the issue locally, you can ask to be referred to our Complaints Team or the Chief Executive.  We know that this is not an easy decision to make so we will work with you to do this.

Whether your feedback is positive or negative, we would like to know. You can contact the Complaints Team on the details below for support……

Below is a list of frequently asked questions, we hope this helps if not please do contact us

It is important to raise a concern or complaint as soon as possible after the event, to help us investigate any concerns or issues effectively.

Providing a contact number will enable us to get in touch with you right away. 

Details of complaints are not kept in your health records and raising a concern or making a complaint will not affect your ongoing or future care and treatment in any way.

We follow the guidance set out in The Local Authority Social Services & NHS Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 when managing cases. 

Please give as much relevant information as possible, including:

  • Your full name
  • Date of Birth
  • Address
  • A contact telephone number
  • Where the events took place
  • What happened, including the date and time if you have them
  • Who was involved
  • If anyone saw what happened

Step 1

On the ward or in the service, we will try to fully understand your concern, and what you wish to happen. We will either be able to resolve the issues with you there and then, or we will agree with you within 24 hours how you wish the matter to be looked into, and how long this will take.

Step 2

If we have not been able to resolve the issue there and then, you will be offered a meeting or call to listen to your views and to consider any actions you may still want us to take. This can be confirmed in writing.

Step 3

All actions and things we can learn from the matter will be carried out and shared in our teams and monitored by the Trust until they are completed. You can also receive feedback about actions when they have been completed if you would like

Information about complaints and the people involved is strictly confidential and will not be saved on your records.

If you are not the person using our services, or a patient, then we will have to ask that person for their permission to share information with you. If the person is unable to give permission because of ill health or a lack of mental capacity, we will ask a clinician whether the information can be shared.

If somebody has sadly died, the next of kin will be able to provide consent for information to be shared. We will respect any known wishes expressed by the person historically.

In rare cases, somebody will make a complaint but the person who uses our services will request that they do not want a complaint to be completed. If they have capacity to make decisions, then their wishes will be respected. An explanation will be given to you by the team

Absolutely not.

The Trust sees concerns and complaints as an opportunity to improve our services and they should not have any detrimental effects on the person raising the concern or making the complaint. 

Concerns and/or complaints are not held on service users’ medical records. 

Please contact us if you feel that the service you have received has been affected following making a complaint.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint after the complaint is completed, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to request an independent review of your case. They are not part of the NHS or the Government.  PHSO - www.ombudsman.org.uk - 0345 015 4033

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