What to do if you are still unhappy following a complaint
If you are unhappy with the initial response to your complaint you can ask for the complaint to be investigated further by a more senior manager, or ask to meet with specific members of staff. It may also be helpful to ask the Trust to explain exactly how they have investigated the response. If your complaint involved a serious incident, such as where someone has died or been hurt all Trusts should operate an investigative procedure called Root Cause Analysis; you can ask the Trust if this technique has been used and to have a copy of the report. You can also ask to seethe Incident report forms that were completed at the time.
If following local resolution you remain unhappy with the Trust’s response you can ask the ask for an independent review. In England this will be carried out by the Healthcare Commission who can be contacted on 0845 601 3012. In Northern Ireland reviews are the responsibility of health boards.
Scotland and Wales do not have an equivalent organisation and complaints will need to be referred directly to the Health Service Ombudsman.
Following an independent review the person leading the review can act in three ways:
- Refer the matter back to the Trust if they feel local resolution may still be helpful
- Set up an independent review panel to investigate the complaint
- Take no further action if they feel nothing more can be achieved
If forwarded to an Independent Review panel you will need to explain to the panel why you are not satisfied with the responses you have received. You will be able to attend with a friend or relative or if you would prefer you can ask an ICAS complaints officer or PALS advisor to accompany you to the meeting. The panel will also speak to members of staff involved in the complaint as well as taking advice from independent clinical experts before coming to its conclusion.
The panel will then produce a final report within a month of the hearing. This will include the Panel’s comments and recommendation. Following this the Chief Executive of the Trust will write to you explaining what action they are going to take as a result of the review. This should include any timescales involved after which they should write to you again with an update.
If following the local resolution and Independent Review Report you remain unhappy you can write to the Health Service Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is completely independent of both the NHS and Government and can be contacted at:
Milbank Tower, Milbank, London SW1P 4QP
0845 015 4033
OHSC.Enquries@ombudsman.gsi.gov.uk
Have Your Say
NCEPOD Report 17.11.08
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