NHS Complaint Procedure

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Hospitals, general practitioners, dentists and opticians who provide medical care to British citizens fall under the purview of NHS Service providers providing care to the public. Patients who have received treatment from such NHS medical practitioners and are not satisfied with the quality of treatment provided, have the option of making a compliant. The complaint can be made at two levels. One is through local resolution and the other is by getting in touch with the health ombudsman.

Complaints with Local Resolution Centre

The affected patient or their family members can, either in a verbal fashion or in written form, raise a compliant on substandard services provided by NHS staff. This compliant should be made within 12 months of the patient realising the poor quality of treatment provided by the NHS caregiver. The hospital authority or the general practitioner can either provide resolution within the stipulated time or seek an extension in order to find the actual reason for the substandard treatment provided by the NHS staff. If the patient is not satisfied with the type of response provided by the local resolution centre, the patient or their family member can take this case to an independent review panel. Patients should register with the independent review panel within 28 days of getting the response from the local resolution centre.

The convener of the independent review panel has the rights to send the complaint back to the local resolution centre or to the health ombudsman. The independent review panel has the authority to conduct a fresh medical assessment of the case by making use of medical experts. The review panel consists of a convener, an independent chairperson and another representative from the health industry. The independent review panel does not have the required authority to pass interim orders – the chairman of the local health authority goes through the suggested changes proposed by the review panel. The local health authorities have to ensure that they take the necessary action recommended by the independent review panel.

Role of the Health Ombudsman

The Health Ombudsman comes into the picture only when the independent review panel refers the complaint to it if the concerned patient is not satisfied with the level of resolution provided by local authorities. It also has a role to play if there is no independent review panel available to hear the complaints of patients who are not satisfied with the response provided by the local resolution centre. The health ombudsman also has the right to send the case back to the local resolution centre.

Claim or Complaint

Some people are of the assumption that they had made a claim by making a complaint against the NHS. But these are not one and the same, and usually follow different paths. In order to be eligible for a compensation claim against the NHS, the affected patient can use the help of our experienced Medical Negligence Lawyers with many years experience in handling claim cases related to NHS negligence. Our Medical Negligence Lawyers have an excellent track record of guiding affected patients in getting their compensation from the NHS.

Call our Medical Negligence Lawyers on freephone 08000 488 777 or start your compensation claim online and we will call you. Medical Lawyers

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