Patient advice and liaison service / complaints

If you are unhappy with NHS services or treatment that you have received, or if you have been affected by the actions or decisions of an NHS organisation then you can raise a complaint. If you are unable to complain yourself, someone can act on your behalf, with your written consent.

Businesses or other care providers CANNOT make a complaint under the NHS complaints procedure.

The NHS complaints procedure gives people a choice of whether to complain to the provider of the services, or the commissioner of the service. If you complain to us about a service that we have commissioned, we will manage the complaint but will need to ask the provider to investigate.

If your complaint involves more than one organisation you should only need to make one complaint. You will be asked to provide consent to share your concerns with all organisations involved and will usually receive a single, coordinated response.

From 1^st July 2023 complaints for Primary Care Services (GPs, Pharmacies, Ophthalmic Services & Dentists) should be made either direct to the provider or to your local Integrated Care Board (ICB).  For Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB please direct your complaint to the Patient Services Team using the contact details provided in the section “How do I make a complaint?”.

Complaints, compliments and enquiries are handled by our patient services team. You can contact us via any of the methods below and we will be happy to help.

Freephone: 0808 196 8861

Email: PatientServices@staffsstoke.icb.nhs.uk

Post: New Beacon Building, Stafford Education and Enterprise Park, Weston Road, Stafford, ST18 OBF

Any information you provide will be treated in strict confidence. We may need to collect personal information from you so that we can provide the best possible service. Please be assured that your personal details will not be shared with anyone else without your consent.

For further information, please read our complaints policy.

You should raise your complaint as soon as possible, but in any case, within 12 months of you becoming aware that a problem has occurred.

We appreciate this is not always possible and where this period has passed, we would still like you to speak with us. In special circumstances, complaints can still be accepted after this period of time has passed. Please speak to us if you are considering raising a complaint that is more than 12 months old.

We will contact you within three working days of receiving your complaint and will then agree with you how we will look into your complaint and what you can expect. The complaints team will always consider whether there is a way to resolve your complaint quickly and informally. If not, they will explain how the complaints process works and will request a thorough investigation.

We will also provide a timescale by which you should receive your response. Once the investigation has been completed you will receive a full written response from our Chief Executive Officer.

We understand that some people worry that their treatment might be adversely affected because they have raised a complaint. Please do not worry about this. We also appreciate that those using our services have different needs and we want to make sure you do not face any barriers when raising a complaint. Staff will be happy to discuss this with you to ensure you are not disadvantaged in any way.

If you would like help and support making your complaint, including help writing your letter, you can contact advocacy support. This support can help by providing free, confidential and independent support and information about the NHS complaints procedure.

There are local advocacy providers who can guide and support you through the NHS complaints process.

They are free and independent of the NHS. They can help you put your complaint in writing and attend meetings with you, but they do not investigate complaints.

If you live within the city of Stoke-on-Trent, you can access Asist advocacy support by contacting:

Asist Advocacy

Telephone: 01782 845 584 or text 60777 and start your message with Asist

Email: Enquiries@asist.co.uk

Website: www.asist.co.uk/contact-us

Post: ASIST, Winton House, Stoke Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2RW

For residents of Staffordshire (excluding the city of Stoke-on-Trent) you should contact:

Asist Advocacy

Telephone: 01785 246 709

Email: stafford@asist.co.uk

Website: www.asist.co.uk/contact-us

Post: ASIST, Tollgate Court Business Centre, Stafford, ST16 3HS

You can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to consider your complaint further. The role of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is to make final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by the NHS, operating fairly and without taking sides. This service is free.

Telephone: 0345 015 4033

Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk

Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk