Front line staff

Wherever possible you should talk to someone who is close to the cause of your concern such as a doctor, nurse or receptionist. In many cases the matter can be resolved straight away.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

You may wish to raise your concerns with someone who is not involved in your care. The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) is independent of the Newcastle Hospitals and the PALS officers can advise and support patients, their families and carers, provide information on NHS services, listen to your concerns, suggestions or queries and help sort out problems quickly on your behalf.

This service is confidential, and can be contacted on:

Freephone: 0800 032 02 02

If you are not happy with the outcome following discussion with PALS, they will be able to provide you with information on how to make a formal complaint.

How to make a formal complaint

If you wish to make a formal complaint you can telephone or write to the Complaints Department in the Trust.  Click here for contact details.

• A current or former patient
• Someone on behalf of a patient (for example, a relative, carer or advocate).  However, the Trust will normally need to seek consent from the patient if it is not immediately clear that they have given their consent.
• Someone on behalf of a patient where the patient has died, is a child, or is unable because of physical or mental incapacity to make the complaint themselves. In the case of deceased patients consent will normally be sought from the person recorded as being the Next of Kin.  
• Visitors or family members who are unhappy with the service they received.

How soon should I make a complaint?

It is important to make the complaint as soon as possible after the event. We normally investigate only those complaints that are either

• Made within six months of the event
• Made within six months of you realising that you have something to complain about, as long as it is no longer than 12 months after the event.  

These time limits can be extended in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Trust.

All complaints are acknowledged as soon as possible after receipt and you have the right to a full and prompt written reply from the Chief Executive to any written formal complaint made against the Trust or the services it provides.

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust tries to do this within 25 working days of receiving the complaint. Where matters are more complex and require additional time for investigation we will contact you and agree a reasonable time scale, and if there are other good reasons for delay you will be kept informed of progress.

 What can I do if I am not satisfied with the response?

The Trust will remain committed to resolving your complaint at a local level. If you are not satisfied with the response made to your initial complaint, there are further options that you may pursue:

• You may wish to write once more to the Chief Executive explaining the reasons why you remain dissatisfied. Any additional concerns will be investigated and you will receive a further response.
• You may be offered or request a local resolution meeting to meet with staff from the Trust to discuss your concerns in person. It is often beneficial to attend such a meeting accompanied by a family member or friend, or by a representative of the Independent Complaints Advisory Service (ICAS), see contact details below.
• You may request the Healthcare Commission to consider your complaint for an Independent Review. You should request this within six months of receiving a final written response from the Trust. Advice on how to contact the Healthcare Commission is given below.

The Healthcare Commission will ask you to explain in writing exactly why you are dissatisfied, if you have not already done so. They will then consider options and decide on the best way forward and whether additional local resolution might help resolve your problem. If not, a decision will be made as to whether there should be an Independent Review of your complaint by a Case Manager or independent panel.

The Healthcare Commission will only recommend the setting up of a panel if it is felt likely that this will help resolve the problems you have identified. You should be informed of the decision of the Healthcare Commission in writing within 25 working days from their receipt of your letter. If a panel is to be set up you will be told what matters they will investigate. Once the decision is made to undertake an Independent Review of your case the Healthcare Commission takes charge of all proceedings.
 

There are some things which cannot be dealt with under the NHS Complaints system. These include:

• Questions regarding compensation
• Complaints about private medical treatment 
• Complaints about Local Authority Social Services 
• Events requiring investigation by a professional disciplinary body 
• Events about which you are already taking legal action. 
• A complaint which is being or has been investigated by the Health Service Ombudsman 
• A complaint arising out of an alleged failure to comply with a data subject request under the Data Protection Act 1998 or a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Talk to the PALS Officer or your General Practitioner if you are unsure whether your complaint is definitely about the NHS.

Complaints about other NHS Services

There are similar arrangements for complaints involving NHS staff working in the community, but these are dealt with by your local Primary Care Trust (PCT). For Newcastle residents the local PCT address is given below.

Newcastle Primary Care Trust
Benfield Road
Walkergate
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE6 4PR

Telephone: (0191) 219 6000

If you are still dissatisfied after the NHS complaints procedure has been completed you can ask the Health Service Ombudsman to investigate your case. The Ombudsman is completely independent of both the NHS and of the Government. As well as complaints about NHS services, the Ombudsman can investigate complaints about how the procedure is working.

So for example, the Ombudsman could investigate a complaint about a decision not to carry out an independent review.

The Ombudsman is not obliged to investigate every complaint put forward, and will not generally take on a case, which has not first been through the NHS complaints procedure nor a case which is being dealt with by the courts.

If you want advice on whether to ask the Ombudsman to investigate, you can write or telephone the Ombudsman's office, see below for address and telephone number.

The Ombudsman
The Health Service Ombudsman for England
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP

Telephone:   (020) 7217 4051

We want to know when things go wrong so we can quickly put them right for you and can learn from your experience how to improve our services for other people.

As an organisation we would encourage patients and their visitors to comment on any aspects of the services they have experienced or anything that would have made their visit to Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust a more pleasant experience.

Trust contact address and telephone number:

Mr L R Fenwick CBE
Chief Executive 
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Headquarters: Freeman Hospital
High Heaton
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE7 7DN

Telephone:   (0191) 233 6161

Mr P Anderson, Patient Relations Manager
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Patient Relations Department ( Level 1)
Freeman Hospital
High Heaton
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE7 7DN

Telephone:   (0191) 233 6161

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

Freephone:  0800 032 0202

Independent Complaints Advisory Service (ICAS)

If you need help with making your complaint, the local office of ICAS can provide free assistance in this regard. ICAS is independent of the NHS and can also provide information, advice and support to members of the public throughout the complaint process. ICAS services may be accessed via telephone number 0845 120 3732 or visit Advice Guide

ICAS cannot:

• Help with non-NHS or private care problems
• Give legal or clinical advice 
• Discipline staff 
• Obtain compensation

Health Information Service

The Health Information Service on freephone 0800 665544 can also let you have up to date information about how the complaints system works.