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Written question asked by Catherine West (Labour) on Friday, 1 November 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 5 November 2019. It was answered by Nadine Dorries (Conservative) on Tuesday, 5 November 2019 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

NHS: Complaints

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which NHS organisation is responsible for ensuring NHS complaints are handled effectively; and what the process is for handling complaints where multiple NHS organisations are involved.

Answer

Under the National Health Service complaints procedure, complaints can be made either to the provider or the commissioner of the service in question. It is for the NHS body receiving the complaint to ensure the complaint is handled effectively at a local level. Where a complaint relates to primary care services, NHS England and NHS Improvement (as the service commissioner) may have a role to support complaints handling.

If a complainant is not satisfied with the outcome or handling of a complaint at local level, they can refer their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

Where a complaint concerns multiple bodies, NHS organisations, local authorities, primary care providers or independent sector providers have a duty to cooperate, as ‘responsible bodies’, to ensure there is agreement on how the complaint should be taken forward.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
8599
Session
2019-19
Subjects
Complaints NHS
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk