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Learn How To Make A Complaint Against The NHS

If you are reading this guide, you likely want to find out how to make a complaint against the NHS. All medical professionals must treat patients to an adequate standard of care. This applies to the NHS practitioners, as well as those working in the private sector. It can be extremely upsetting and stressful when you receive poor treatment, so keep reading to learn about the steps you can take.

  • You can raise a complaint and potentially make a claim if you have received inadequate treatment from a medical professional working for the NHS.
  • In order to complain, you should check the complaints procedure of the specific health facility where you received treatment.
  • You should receive an acknowledgement of your complaint within 3 days of sending it, although there is no set time period for discussing your complaint and coming to a conclusion.
  • If you do not receive a satisfactory response to your complaint, you can escalate it through the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
  • Our panel of solicitors represent medical negligence claims through excellent No Win No Fee contracts and work to make the process of claiming much easier for our clients.

You can get in touch with an expert advisor today for further information on the necessary standard of treatment and how to make a complaint against the NHS. As well as raising a complaint against the NHS, you may wish to start a claim for medical negligence compensation. They can explain whether you are eligible to proceed with a case and potentially connect you to a solicitor from our panel.

A stethoscope with 'NHS' written on wooden blocks in the centre. This represents the responsibilities of the NHS as a service provider

Jump To A Section

  1. How To Make A Complaint Against The NHS For Medical Negligence
  2. Raising A Formal Complaint
  3. How Long They Have To Respond
  4. The Next Steps If You’re Unsatisfied With The Response
  5. Escalating A Complaint With The Parliamentary And Health Service Ombudsmen
  6. How A Solicitor Can Help You Make A Medical Negligence Claim
  7. Claim Against The NHS On A No Win No Fee Basis
  8. More Information

How To Make A Complaint Against The NHS For Medical Negligence

You have a right to make a complaint against the NHS based on the treatment, services and care provided. This is written into the NHS constitution. You must first consider what type of healthcare facility you need to make the complaint against. This could be a:

  • GP surgery
  • Dental care provider
  • Hospital
  • Pharmacy
  • Urgent care facility
  • NHS opticians
  • Maternity facility
  • Sexual health facility

We may not have included the facility that you wish to complain about. Do not worry if this is the case. You can speak with our team of advisors at any time to learn more about how to make a complaint against the NHS.

Raising A Formal Complaint

The recommended course of action when raising a formal complaint is to start by asking the staff at the facility for their formal complaint procedure. You may also find the information you need at the reception desk, in the waiting room or on the facility’s website.

It is your decision as to what route you take with the complaint. You may wish to complain directly to the facility that mistreated you. However, there is also an option to complain to the body that finances the NHS services that you have accessed.

You can also speak with our advisory team if you would also like to make a medical negligence claim. If you have grounds to complain to the NHS, you could also be eligible to claim a medical negligence payout. Enquire today to find out.

A patient receives negligent care from a doctor in hospital. They may ask about the complaints process or check the NHS website for further information

How Long They Have To Respond

The facility should acknowledge your complaint within three working days of receiving it. They should then open a discussion with you, giving you the chance to further explain your situation.

There is no set time frame for the healthcare provider to settle the complaint. The length of the discussion between the person complaining and the complaint handler varies from case to case.

If you have any concerns about how to make a complaint against the NHS or how long it may take, you can talk to our experienced advisors.

The Next Steps If You’re Unsatisfied With The Response

You should use the discussion period to provide any details you have of the situation and read the information they provide you with. If the facility experiences delays when processing your complaint, they should keep you informed of this.

It is the responsibility of the complaints handler to investigate the circumstances of your complaint and provide you with their findings. If they confirm that you had grounds to complain, they should offer their apologies and explain the measures that will be taken to ensure it does not happen again.

Once they have given their final response, you may not be happy with the outcome. You should be provided with an explanation as to how your complaint has been handled. This will help you if you decide to escalate your complaint.

Keep reading for advice on the next steps you can take. You are also welcome to speak with our team of advisors for further guidance on how to make a complaint to the NHS.

Escalating A Complaint With The Parliamentary And Health Service Ombudsmen

Once the NHS facility has given its final response regarding your complaint, you have the option to contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) if you wish to take the complaint further. This is the body responsible for investigating complaints against public organisations, such as the NHS. Their aim is to provide an assessment that is independent, fair and free. 

You can contact the PHSO through their phone line or use their website to fill in a complaint form. If you’re not sure, you can speak with our advisors to find out how to escalate your complaint.

How A Solicitor Can Help You Make A Medical Negligence Claim

A solicitor from our panel can help you to make a medical negligence claim. In order to qualify, you must prove that you have suffered unnecessary harm due to the negligent treatment provided by a medical professional.

For example, a doctor may have prescribed you the wrong medication for your condition. As a result, your condition may worsen, and you could experience some side effects of the medication.

You may consider proceeding without a legal representative. However, it is essential to note that this would likely be a more challenging process and require greater effort on your part. Our panel have decades of combined experience in handling claims of this nature. This gives them the tools they need to advise you throughout the whole process.

The excellent services they provide include:

  • Negotiating the amount of compensation owed by the defendant to include the full extent of your suffering and potential financial losses
  • Identifying what evidence would be appropriate to your case, such as a copy of your complaint and any correspondence you have received about it
  • Communicating with the defending party in a professional manner and clearly representing your interests
  • Ensuring that the claim begins within the legally required time frame

You can enquire with our team of advisors today to find out how to make a complaint against the NHS and whether you could start a claim for compensation. They can further explain the services our panel offers to make the process of claiming more straightforward for you.

A pair of No Win No Fee solicitors sit at a desk while discussing a case against an NHS foundation trust. The claimant they are representing has already followed the NHS complaints policy but they require further practical advice

Claim Against The NHS On A No Win No Fee Basis

If eligible, you can claim against the NHS with a No Win No Fee contract. A solicitor from our panel may represent you on this basis through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Therefore, you would not need to pay for your solicitor’s work:

  • Before the claim begins
  • While the case is ongoing
  • In the event that you do not receive compensation

However, if you do gain compensation, you will be required to pay a success fee. This term refers to the percentage of the compensation that you pay to your solicitor. There is a legal cap in place, so you can rest assured that the largest share of the compensation will stay with you.

Contact Our Advisors

If you have any queries about how to make a complaint against the NHS, do not hesitate to contact us. Our enquiries team can also assess your situation to determine whether you are eligible to claim and may even use a medical negligence calculator to estimate what your compensation could cover. 

There is no obligation to work with Medical Negligence Claims Care after enquiring, so why not reach out today for guidance?

More Information

Read our other guides below:

External resources:

Thank you for reading our guide on how to make a complaint against the NHS. We hope that you now have the information you need to proceed.

What Is The Bolam Test In Medical Negligence Claims?

If you have been searching for information on making a compensation claim, you may have come across the Bolam test for medical negligence. This test is often used as evidence in medical negligence claims, but what exactly is it, and how could it help you? Our guide aims to explain these questions and more.

In this guide, we will first provide an outline of what the Bolam test is and how it came about. We’ll also examine how the Bolam test might be applied in a medical negligence claim through some example scenarios. As you continue reading, you’ll learn about what a duty of care is and how it relates to the Bolam test.

Finally, we take a look at some of the benefits of working with one of the experienced No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel. They’ve taken on claims nationwide, helping clients win the medical negligence compensation they deserve.

If you have any questions about the Bolam test or medical negligence, our advisors are here to provide you with free and confidential support. They’re available 24/7 and can also provide you with a no-obligation case assessment. To get in touch and see if you have grounds to make a medical negligence claim, use the details below:

Medical practitioners gather round a table to discuss whether a claimant suffered due a doctor failing to provide the appropriate standard of care

Jump To A Section

  1. What Is The Bolam Test?
  2. Bolam Vs Friern Hospital Management Committee
  3. What Was The Outcome Of The Trial?
  4. How To Apply The Bolam Test To Medical Negligence Claims
  5. Establishing A Duty Of Care With The Bolam Test
  6. Get Free Advice From Medical Negligence Claims Care
  7. More Information

What Is The Bolam Test?

The Bolam test is used to assess whether the care that a patient received from a medical professional met minimum expected standards. In short, it is a peer review performed by medical professionals with training that is appropriate to the case.

These peers assess whether the standard of care provided would be acceptable and proper to a responsible body of medical opinion from the same field. If someone like a doctor is found to have acted in accordance with that medical opinion, then they may not be deemed negligent.

If you’d like further information on what the Bolam test in medical negligence claims is, you can speak with our team for free advice. You can also keep reading this guide to find out how the Bolam test came into being and the impact it can have on medical negligence claims. 

Bolam Vs Friern Hospital Management Committee

The Bolam test is named after a 1957 court case, Bolam vs Friern Hospital Management Committee. This case was brought about following the experiences of a patient who received electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) voluntarily. Prior to the procedure, he was not restrained nor given any muscle relaxants. If a doctor had taken these steps, it may have prevented muscle spasms or contractions, as ECT comes with a risk of fractures to the bones.

As a result, the patient suffered serious harm and pursued compensation. He claimed that negligence occurred due to the failure to:

  • Provide him with a muscle relaxant
  • Restrain him during the procedure
  • Inform him of the risks associated with the ECT treatment

You can speak with an advisor if you would like a further understanding of this case, or keep reading to find out the outcome of the trial.

What Was The Outcome Of The Trial?

The High Court found in favour of Friern Hospital and determined that normal practice was followed for administering ECT. In their judgement, the jury determined that the hospital was not negligent in how it performed the treatment. At the time, muscle relaxants were not widely accepted by medical opinion, while restraints occasionally increased the risk of fractures occurring.

This may be your first time reading about the Bolam case, so please do not hesitate to contact an advisor for further details. They can answer any question you might have about it or how the Bolam test affects medical negligence claims.

How To Apply The Bolam Test To Medical Negligence Claims

In order to apply the Bolam test to medical negligence claims, it needs to be established that a professional like a doctor acted in a way that fell short of minimum expected standards.

While the Bolam test is not always required, it can sometimes be difficult to assess whether medical negligence has occurred. Therefore, it may be judged that your case will benefit from the expert insight of relevant medical professionals.

Examples of how a Bolam test may help to prove that medical negligence occurred include:

  • A panel of medical professionals determine that you underwent unnecessary surgery because a surgeon misread your scan results. This led the surgeon to wrongly conclude you needed to have a leg amputated, leaving you with reduced mobility and causing long-term depression.
  • A Bolam test for medical negligence concludes that a nurse failed to correctly read the label on your medication, resulting in the wrong dosage being prescribed. This medication error causes an overdose, leaving you hospitalised and suffering from liver damage.
  • A doctor misdiagnoses a patient when they mistake the typical symptoms of breast cancer for a cyst. The medical panel determines that the doctor didn’t perform an adequate check-up or order diagnostic tests. As a result of this medical misdiagnosis, the cancer spreads and becomes much harder to treat.

You can contact our advisors for further advice on what evidence might be required to support a medical negligence claim. They can discuss your specific experiences and help see if you could be connected to one of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel.

A female patient lies in a hospital bed

Establishing A Duty Of Care With The Bolam Test

Since its introduction, the Bolam test has become a benchmark for establishing a duty of care owed to patients. For a claim involving clinical negligence to be potentially valid, it needs to meet the following criteria:

  • A duty of care was owed
  • That duty was breached
  • The breach directly resulted in avoidable or unnecessary harm

As there is no specific legislation in place to determine the exact duty of care owed to a patient, the Bolam test can be helpful in medical negligence claims. However, there are limits to the Bolam test for medical negligence.

In particular, the Bolam test’s scope may be potentially narrowed by its focus on current standards of medical care rather than on best or alternative practices. Additionally, some have criticised the test for placing too much value on the opinions of medical experts.

Therefore, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has established clinical guidelines for the government, the NHS and patients. NICE is a non-departmental public body which uses evidence-based recommendations to inform their guidelines. These aim to support the knowledge and skills of medical professionals while establishing a guide to improve health and care for England and Wales.

You can contact our team at any time if you would like to discuss the guidance that medical professionals should follow or the limits of the Bolam test on medical negligence.

Get Free Advice From Medical Negligence Claims Care

You can get free advice from our team 24 hours a day. Our advisors are always ready to help, whether that’s to answer any questions you have about the Bolam test or provide guidance on how medical negligence can be proven. They can also assess the validity of your case and potentially connect you to a medical negligence solicitor from our expert panel.

Our panel of solicitors represent clients through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This type of contract works on a No Win No Fee basis, meaning you won’t have to pay any solicitor fees:

  • Before your medical negligence case begins
  • While your case is underway
  • If you do not receive compensation

In the event that you do win, you will pay a success fee to your solicitor. This is the percentage of your compensation that you give to them for their services. There is a cap on the percentage of how much can be taken, so you can rest assured that you will keep the majority of what you get.

Besides the benefits of a CFA, working with one of the solicitors from our panel can give you access to a range of services, including:

  • Helping obtain evidence to support your case
  • Negotiating a settlement on your behalf
  • Explaining the claims process and any terms you’re unfamiliar with
  • Providing regular case updates and handling correspondence on your behalf

With decades of combined experience in handling medical negligence cases, they have the expertise needed to support you at every stage of the claims process. They’ve successfully represented people across the country, and you could be next.

Contact Us

If you’re ready to get started, reach out today to take your first steps towards claiming the compensation you deserve. There are no obligations once you get in touch, so please don’t hesitate to use the details below for free and confidential advice:

Solicitors sit at a desk taking notes on using the Bolam test for medical negligence

More Information

Read our other medical negligence claim guides:

External resources:

Thank you for reading our guide on the Bolam test and medical negligence.