Submitting a Compliment, 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.

Compliments

We love to hear and share your comments and positive feedback.

• Compliments can be sent to email address pals@sthk.nhs.uk or alternatively via telephone on 0151 430 1376
• You can also feedback using our Friends and Family Test surveys

Making a formal complaint

Putting your concerns in writing means the Trust will treat it as a formal complaint and will acknowledge your correspondence within three working days of receipt of it.

An investigation will then be carried out and you will be informed of the outcome.  We aim to respond to complaints by 60 working days of receipt (excluding weekends and bank holidays). It should be noted that our complaint investigations, in some cases, do take up to the maximum time frame under the NHS Complaints Regulations (2009) of 6 months, if this is the case you will be informed of this.

You can make a formal complaint by:

Writing a letter to:

Complaints Department
Mersey & West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Whiston Hospital
Lower Ground Floor
Nightingale House
Warrington Road
Prescot
Merseyside
L35 5DR

Or you can complete an online form or complaints pro-forma which is available here:

• Complaints Pro-forma

Complaints Department contact details and opening times:

• Email: complaintsteamDL@sthk.nhs.uk
• Telephone: 0151 430 1427 or 0151 430 1167
• Open Monday to Friday - 09.00 am to 5.00 pm
• Closed weekends and bank holidays

Additional Information

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