How to complain or raise concerns about health services

How you can raise a concern or complaint

There are many ways to raise your concern or complaint.

These include:

• face to face
• by phone
• in a letter
• by email

You should try to give details of:

• how to contact you
• who or what you are complaining about
• where and when the event that caused your complaint happened
• if possible, what you would like to be done to address your complaint  

You should try to complain as soon as possible, usually within six months of you becoming aware that you have a cause for complaint and normally no longer than 12 months after the event.

But you don’t have to wait. If you are unhappy with something, you can speak to any of the staff who are dealing with your treatment or care and they will try to resolve your concerns straight away.  

You can also raise a concern or complain on someone else’s behalf, although you will generally need their consent.

Services you can complain about

 You can raise a concern or make a complaint about any of the following health services:

• Health and Social Care Services
• family practitioner services
• regulated establishments and agencies
• independent sector providers
• self-funded care or treatment

Health and Social Care services

If you have a concern or complaint about a health and social care service, such as those services provided in a hospital or social care services provided in the community, you can raise your concern or complaint with the complaints manager at your local health and social care Trust.

Family practitioner services

If you have a concern or complaint about services provided by family practitioner services such as family doctors, dentists, pharmacist or optician, you should, in the first instance, make your complaint to the practice or practitioner for local resolution.

Regulated establishments and agencies

If you have a concern or complaint about services provided by a regulated establishment or agency such as residential home, nursing home or domiciliary care agency, you should, in the first instance, raise your concerns or make your complaint to the service provider for local resolution where possible.

This may be with the manager of the home or the registered person for the establishment. 

You can contact the HSC Trust who have commissioned the care either on your behalf or your family member’s behalf.

If you need to contact the Trust, contact the Trust’s complaints manager.

Independent sector providers

If you have a concern or complaint about services provided by an independent sector provider, such as a private clinic, you should, in the first instance, raise your concerns or make your complaint to the service provider for local resolution where possible.

This could be either through their complaints department, local management or registered person for the establishment.

If the treatment you received was commissioned by a HSC Trust, you can also contact the HSC Trust who will investigate your concern or complaint as part of their Trust complaints process.

Self-funded care or treatment

If you have self-funded your care or treatment, or a family member's, such as residential or nursing home care or private treatment with an independent sector provider, you should, in the first instance, raise your concerns or make your complaint to the service provider for local resolution where possible.

The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA)

While the RQIA does not have the legal powers to investigate individual complaints about health and social care services, regulated establishments and agencies, independent sector providers or about self-funded care, if a concern is raised with RQIA about these services, they will use this information to inform their inspection or review work.

Help with making a complaint

HSC Trust staff or the Patient Client Council can give you information on how to raise a concern or make a complaint about health and social care services provided by the Trust or commissioned by the Trust from regulated establishments and agencies or independent healthcare providers.

The Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG) of the Department of Health can provide you with help about family practitioner services.

Patient and Client Council support service

The Patient and Client Council (PCC) offer a freephone support service to support the public with questions, concerns or complaints they may have within their health and social care.

They are also able to help the public with navigating their care should it be affected by pressures being faced by the Health Service caused by coronavirus (COVID-19). 

• Patient and Client Council

Answering your concern or complaint

Your complaint will be acknowledged within two or three working days of receipt.

You should receive a full response within 10 working days if your complaint was about a family doctor, dentist, pharmacist or optician and made directly.  

If the complaint has been made with the help of the SPPG Complaints Team  a response takes 20 working days.

If your complaint was about a hospital or social care service, you should receive a full response within 20 working days.

Some complaints take longer to resolve than others. You should be told if this is the case and be given an explanation.

If you're not satisfied with the response

If you are not happy with the final decision of the provider organisation, you can refer your complaint to the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO).

NIPSO will look at your complaint and decide whether they should investigate it. 

Contacts

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

• telephone: 028 9504 8000
• email: complaints@belfasttrust.hscni.net
• website: Compliments and complaints

Northern Health and Social Care Trust

• telephone: 028 9442 4655
• email: user.feedback@northerntrust.hscni.net
• website: Northern HSC Trust

South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

• telephone: 028 9056 1427
• email: complaints@setrust.hscni.net
• website: South Eastern HSC Trust

Western Health and Social Care Trust

• telephone: 028 7134 5171 ext 214142
• direct dial: 028 7161 1226
• email: complaints.department@westerntrust.hscni.net
• website: Western HSC Trust

Southern Health and Social Care Trust

• telephone: 028 3756 4600
• email: ServiceUserFeedback@southerntrust.hscni.net 
• website: Southern HSC Trust

NI Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust

• telephone: 028 9040 0999
• email: Complaints.Manager@nias.hscni.net
• website: NI Ambulance Service

Department of Health Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG)

Formerly Health and Social Care Board (HSCB)

• telephone: 028 9536 3893
• email: complaints.sppg@hscni.net 
• website: Health and Social Care Online

Patient and Client Council

• freephone: 0800 9170 222
• freepost: Patient and Client Council
• email: info@pcc-ni.net
• website: Patient and Client Council

Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority

• telephone: 028 9536 1111 
• email: info@rqia.org.uk
• website: Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority

Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO)

• telephone: 028 9023 3821
• freepost: NIPSO
• freephone: 0800 34 34 24 (Monday to Thursday 9.00 am to 1.00 pm)
• email: nipso@nipso.org.uk
• website: Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman

Business Services Organisation

• telephone: 028 9536 0698 and 0300 555 0113
• email: complaints.bso@hscni.net
• website: Business Services Organisation

Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service

• telephone: 028 9032 1414
• email: inet@nibts.hscni.net
• website: NI Blood Transfusion Service

Public Health Agency

• telephone: 028 9536 3429 and 0300 555 0114
• email: complaints.pha@hscni.net
• website: Public Health Agency