If you have been treated by the National Health Service and you’re not completely satisfied with the care you have received, or if you have been refused treatment for a condition, you have the legal right to complain to the NHS. In addition to this, you have the right to have your complaint investigated, and to be given a full and prompt reply.
The NHS has a specific constitution that explains your rights when it comes to making a complaint. Within this you have the right to have your complaint dealt with efficiently and to be properly investigated. You also have the right to know the outcome of any investigation into your complaint. If you are not satisfied with how the NHS deals with it you can take your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. If you have been directly affected by an unlawful act or decision of an NHS body you have the right to claim for a judicial review, and if you have been harmed then you could be entitled to claim for compensation.
Each part of the NHS – whether that be a hospital, a clinic, and doctor’s surgery or any other NHS location, has a procedure for dealing with complaints. In some cases you may just wish to let someone know that you think the service provided could have been better. In other cases if you have been injured or harmed, you may wish to claim for compensation or have changes made to the law. You should ask to be directed to the complaints procedure at the location where you feel the issue has occurred.
What if the procedure is not working for you?
If your complaint is not dealt with in the way in which the constitution states, there are many public bodies and organisations that can assist you in taking your complaint to the next level. Groups such as the Citizens Advice Bureau and Healthwatch can all be of assistance in this situation. Alternatively you should contact one of our highly experienced solicitors. They have spent many years working on cases like this, and are best placed to advise you as to how to get a satisfactory outcome. If they feel that you are entitled to claim for compensation they will be able to talk you through the process and handle your claim from the first phone call to the resolution of the matter. Contact us today to see if you can claim the compensation you deserve.