Raising Concerns or making a Complaint
If you would like to report any issues regarding our services or the care you have received, we would be glad to hear from you. Please be assured that should you raise a concern or a complaint it will not affect your care or treatment in any way.
It is best to raise any concern you have as soon as possible. You can speak to any of our staff about it but it is best to start with the people involved in your care ‘locally’ e.g. with the ward (via the Ward Manager) of department that your concerns relate to, as this will often result in a timely and satisfactory resolution.
The Trust aims to provide 5-star patient care and thus strives to meet the best standards for professional care whilst being sensitive to the needs of patients and staff. There are situations, however, when people feel that the standard of care, they received did not meet their needs or expectations and will raise a concern.
Concerns and complaints provide valuable feedback to the Trust about patient and carer experiences. There are a number of staff in place, including the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and the Complaints Department, who ensure that this is captured and managed appropriately, in line with national regulations and Trust guidance. The staff are also able to provide advice and support to teams and individuals in their own areas to ensure that the relevant Trust policies and procedures are followed.
Patients and carers that are unhappy with any aspect of their care are advised to speak to a member of staff on the ward or in the department they are being treated in as soon as possible. If they feel unable to speak directly to a member of staff, then they are advised to contact PALS who will be able to assist. Very often problems can be resolved straight away, so please contact PALS as soon as possible.
If your concerns have not been resolved locally to your satisfaction and you remain dissatisfied you can then contact the Central Complaints Department.
Additional Information
- Important information we need from you….
When submitting your complaint, to enable us to instigate an investigation under our Managing Concerns and Complaints policy into the issues you wish to raise, please provide us with the following information:-
- Your full name, home address, appropriate contact telephone number, email address.
- A list of your specific concerns and questions you wish to be addressed and what your aim is as an outcome of the complaint investigation.
- If you are the patient, if possible please include 2 items of identifiable information:-
- Date of Birth
- Patient / hospital number
- NHS number
- If you are not the patient, then please include 2 items of identifiable information for the patient as outlined above.
It is important to know that we will require written, signed consent from the patient for you to act on their behalf and to enable us to share the patients care or treatment information with you. If the patient is unable to provide consent then we will require this from their named next of kin as identified on their health records or a copy of a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health & Welfare (LPA) will be required. If you cannot provide consent or LPA please advise us of the reason for this.
Alternatively, you can request a complaint pro-forma be emailed or posted to you and we can provide you with the details of your local Advocacy Services to assist you through the process.
- Contact Us
Complaints Department
0151 430 1427 or 0151 430 1167
Email: complaintsteamDL@sthk.nhs.uk - Useful Resources
Title - Complaints Pro-forma
Description - Please use this pro-forma to make a complaint
Webform
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