Hospital complaints

If you're not offered a choice of hospital or you're unhappy with the service provided by your hospital, you can complain.

If you're not offered a choice of hospital

First, explain the problem to your GP. If you're still not offered a choice, contact your primary care trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). Go to Find services to find details of your primary care trust and PALS.

Complaining about hospital services

If you're not happy with the care you received in hospital, you can make a complaint.

Speak to a member of staff in the hospital ward or department. The best people to speak to about your concerns are the ward manager, senior nurse on duty or the hospital receptionist. They may be able to resolve your problem or put you in touch with someone who can. Raising the issue early with someone in the department is usually the easiest and quickest way to resolve a problem.

You can also to talk to the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). Most hospitals have a PALS office. They can give you advice on how to get your complaint resolved. This may include making a complaint to the hospital management through the NHS complaints procedure. To find the contact details for your hospital, go to Find and choose services.

For more information on making a complaint, go to How to complain.

Comments

12 Comments about ‘Hospital complaints’

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Comments are personal views. Any information they give has not been checked and may not be accurate.

Memime1989 said on 11 March 2013

I'm absolutely disgusted with the service I recived at the westmorland general hospital in Kendal I've been waiting to be seen by a doctor for two hours ( and counting) and no one even came over to let me know how long they are going to be. I was left waiting with a pain in my eyes and you could clearly see there was something wrong with them as the eyeballs were covered with blood in both eyes. It would bo good if someone actually communicated with me to let me know how long they are going to be not leaving someone waiting wondering whats going on and not knowing if its something serious or not. Wonder if anything will get done about that but I doubt it.

Joshxyz said on 23 February 2013

Lets face it, when a patient is discharged from Hospital at midnight with nothing more than her nightdress on and no money I think we can safely say that the powers in control of this so called health service have much to answer for. I doubt a complaint service to that same institution will do anything about it. Do Doctors and nurses work outside the law within the NHS?

Jane1012 said on 24 October 2012

Is there any point in complaining? My mother-in-law has had her appt for a knee replacement cancelled this morning for the 3rd time. She is 76, in constant pain, on morphine patches and cannot get about. Her quality of life is affected greatly by the need for a replacement knee. On the first two occasions she was actually admitted and marked up ready to go into theatre before they cancelled!! The poor woman is being incredibly sanguine about it but it seems so unfair. My husband and I are living in the USA so it is difficult, at this distance, to give any assistance and somewhat frustrating. Any suggestions?

faz7861 said on 02 July 2012

Leicester Royal Infirmary , I think that some of the nurses in there are very rude the male doctors seem nicer , I witnessed something today which disgusted me , This old woman could hardly walk and a nurse approached her with a wheelchair and didnt even have the decency to help her out her chair , she didnt even ask if she wanted help and even spoke to the woman quite rudely and expected the poor old woman to walk on her own onto the chair . I understand that doctors and nurses get tired due to long hours of work but that doesnt mean they have to do such things , All I am saying is that the nurses need to start to be more caring and at least make the patient feel comfortable around them . I know that anyone in the world who is ill would like to be handled by someone who is really caring and makes them feel comfortable , not expect someone to make them do things on their own its just not fair and if the nurses even smile it will make a huge difference aswell . I know it must be stressful for the doctors and nurses but imagine how the patients feel . Patients should be put first because they are the one's who are ill not the staff .

jfield said on 07 May 2012

My Aunt who is undergoing cancer treatment was admitted to Ealing Hospital last Friday suffering from a stomach infection caused by her having to inject insulin and anti-clot agents at home (having been previously discharged after 11pm at night and left at home unsupported after suffering from pneumonia as her bed was needed!). She has successfully faught against a brain cancer and was responding to lung cancer treatment. She has been given no support at home and each time her illness has got too bad she has ended up having to be taken into hospital by ambulance as an emergency as it was the only way for her to get to see someone.

At 4am this morning 2 doctors entered her room to tell her that there was nothing else they could do for her. At what time did either of these doctors feel it was appropriate to tell someone at 4am that they are going to die without any family support around her. I am still in shock like the rest of the family that this would happen in the UK. We are devestated obviously that there is nothing else that can be done to treat her but what has made this so much wose is the manner and time that the news was delivered. I honestly wouldn't want my worst enemy treated at this hospital, at no time has my aunt been shown any consideration, care or respect.

I am totally disgusted!

BehzadS said on 22 February 2012

After an operation in London Independent Hospital, Stepney Green , I was transferred to ITU. The dungeon. I was placed on the most horrible uncomfortable bed under a very powerful cold air blowing air conditioning unit. I am allergic to AC. I was told to stay flat to for 3 hours or I may bleed a lot.

I was cold to my bones and very miserable and shivering big time. Around 10.30 I told the new lady nurse that I am allergic to the AC and am very cold. She totally disregarded this. I asked for more blanket. I could not get warm in there. The nurse completely ignored me. I was too weak to demand any more so I asked for additional blankets loud. This time the lady gave me an additional blanket but very lightly on my top. I was cold, asked for more blanket. The blankets were given to me easier when a male nurse arrived and he was wonderful. I think I had 10 blankets on my top but very cold, Shivering and not getting warmer. Could not move from the fear of bleeding.

I have 2 slipped disk and very bad back as the result. I was heavily sedated so I could not raise my voice and insist on getting a better bed and may be a warmer place.

I have sent this letter to the hospital authorities and Executive Director has written back to me justifying all as a matter of routine procedure there. She claims that doctors need not to wear gloves when taking blood test. It is not unusual for a nurse and a doctor not being able to do a blood test. That I have not asked firmly at the night to go to another bed which is warmer and not directly under the AC. That the morning nurse has done a good job keeping me under the AC until after the breakfast.

This was a private care and they charged my insurance company over £7000 for my stay.

Behzad - age 61

HowardH said on 24 January 2012

The most unnecessary and confusing thing I have ever done. For a nasal problem, my GP sent me a letter with three choices - all of which were in the Royal Liverpool; ENT Nurse Led Service, ENT Rhinology and General ENT. I don't have a clue what the difference is. Isn't my GP in a better position to choose than I am?
I don't want to have to make a choice - just send me to the most appropriate clinic.
Complete waste of time and money and symptomatic of the way in which the NHS is more about box-ticking than patient care.

Beam10 said on 25 October 2011

I will need minor surgery which is performed in all hospitals.

When I visited my GP, I expressed my choice of hospital but he would not refer me there and only offered me the three hospitals in his local hospital trust area.

I called the PALS at the PCT and they could see no reason why he should not agree to my choice which is stated to be a right under NHS Choices.

So much for NHS Choices! Now it seems that I will have to start an argument with the GP. He is a good doctor and thats not something that I really want to do. In any case it should not be necessary.

mzy said on 10 October 2011

Brooklea mental health gateway team are a useless waste of government money, all they want to know is if you are on benefits, and unless you are seeing/hearing things and want some psychotic drugs, they cannot/do not want to help and just send you back to your GP, after numerous useless appointments with health workers who know nothing about mental health, you never see anyone qualified, unless of course you want some phychotics prescribing, the faster the government get rid of this team the better, they do not help at all and all they do is make people more ill, they should be claiming benefits, instead of the wages they do not earn

MTJ said on 02 June 2011

My father was admitted to the Royal Free Hospital on 28th November 2008 following the onset of shingles and was unable to walk.
Initially my father seemed to be responding well to treatment, particularly the physiotherapy he was receiving. We noticed however that some of the nurses and nursing assistants had a very poor attitude, particularly in regard to meals. My mother visited him on one occasion and was disgusted to find out that he was slumped over in bed with his face in his food. He was very weak and needed encouragement to eat but this was not happening, the assistant would just put the meal in front of him then leave. If we complained, the nurses and assistants were often very defensive and unhelpful.
This problem was compounded in December 2009 when my father’s false teeth were lost. At nights he would keep them in a glass next to his bed and we can only assume that the teeth were thrown out by a cleaner. I reported this to nursing staff as soon as I found out but it was never resolved despite repeated protestations from myself. Everyone I spoke to about this had the attitude that it wasn’t their problem and just passed the buck. This meant that from December 2008 until his death on March 1st 2009 he was unable to digest his food properly. Also in this period whilst at the Royal Free, he became infected with MRSA which further weakened his immune system.
It was decided to transfer him to Edgware Hospital in January 2009 but he still needed to go to the Royal Free Hospital for various tests. At this time he was unable to walk and in a wheelchair. Following a blood test at the Royal Free on 20th January my father told me that he did not receive adequate help in trying to get from his wheelchair to the vehicle that was scheduled to bring him back to Edgware Hospital. Because he did not receive the assistance he needed, he fell and broke his arm and did further damage to his shoulder. I contacted PALS but they said there was no CCTV so nothing was done,

daveball said on 30 March 2011

i have never felt as let down in my life as i did to day i went to the hip clinic 3 rd visit the consultent dident even read my notses proper asked me the very same questions as the other doctors then told me he will refer me to an other doctor from a different dep 2 mri scan 4 doctors 1 x ray 4months and still waiting for treatment and also told my next visit will be in may but could be longer and in the meantime i am still in pain inless i go privert wot do i pay n i for and can i get a rebate for pour service

hday said on 22 April 2010

Honestly, i am not one to complain about something that should be so helpful towards people, such as the NHS. But, my mum has been ill throughout her later life, due to a fall. She has been taking various tablets to help and only lately,since before christmas, early January, my mum has been suffering with terrible pain. Which has caused me to worry & my dad to worry, this causes stress for the whole family. As well as for my mum most of all, She has been in and out the hospital/A&E since january till now April 22nd. Shes been hospital currently and they have kept her in (finally) after many visits. But nothing seems to be done? If this hadnt been going on for so long, i would not complain. But Dosing my mum up on Even more Pain killers is Not healthy & not resolving the pain. Im sure in the long run this causes far more expenses to the hospital as well.