Make a Complaint

“Any expression of dissatisfaction by one or more members of the public about our action or lack of action, or about the standard of service provided by us or on our behalf.”

If you need to complain about something, we encourage you to do so. We also understand that your complaint may involve more than one HSC body or service, or relate to both health and social care services, or it may be about someone working on our behalf.

Complaints about an independent sector provider, contracted to deliver a service on behalf of the Trust, should be raised with the provider directly. If the complaint has not been resolved, further advice can be requested from the Trust on next steps.

You can complain about things like:

• failure or refusal to provide a service
• inadequate quality or standard of care and treatment, or an unreasonable delay in the provision of care
• failure to properly implement or follow policy, procedures and standards
• failure to properly apply law, procedure or guidance when delivering services
• failure to follow the appropriate administrative process
• poor conduct, behaviour or attitude of a member of staff
• a concern about the actions or service of an organisation who is delivering services on our behalf
• disagreement with a decision, (except where there is a statutory procedure for challenging that decision, or an established appeals process).

There are some things we are unable to deal with through our Complaints Handling Procedure. These include:

• a routine first-time request for a service, for example a request for an appointment or a request for a specific course of treatment
• a request for a second opinion in respect of care or treatment
• matters relating to private healthcare or treatment
• matters relating to services not provided by or funded by the NHS
• a previously concluded complaint or a request to have a complaint reconsidered where we have already given our final decision
• a complaint made by an employee of the Trust or health service provider or other person in relation to their employment contract
• a complaint that is being or has been previously investigated by the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO)
• a complaint arising from a suggested failure to comply with a request for information under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act
• matters where there is intent to or instigation of legal action
• matters where there is an ongoing criminal investigation

We also realise that it is not possible to list everything that you cannot complain about. If other procedures can help you resolve your concerns, we will give information and advice to help you.

Anyone who receives, requests or is directly affected by our services, or a service contracted or commissioned by us, can make a complaint. This includes the representative of someone who is dissatisfied with our service (for example, a relative, friend, advocate or adviser). If you are making a complaint on behalf of someone else, this will normally require the person’s verbal or written consent by filling out a consent form.

Please also read the sections on Getting help to make your complaint and consent.

You can complain in person at the place where you have received care, treatment or advice, or where the incident that you want to complain about happened.

It is easier for us to resolve complaints if you make them quickly and directly to the service concerned. Please talk to a member of our staff at the service you are complaining about. They will always try to resolve any problems on the spot if it is possible to do so.

You can also complain by using our online web form, by email, by phone, or in writing.

When submitting your complaint, please tell us:

• your full name and address
• your phone number, if you are happy to provide it, so we can call you to discuss your complaint
• your email address (if this is your preferred method of contact)
• the full name, address and date of birth of the person affected if you are complaining on behalf of somebody else
• as much helpful detail as you can about the complaint
• what has gone wrong; and
• what outcome you are seeking

Providing this information will help us to clearly identify the problem and what we need to do to resolve matters.

NIAS’s Service User Feedback Team can be contacted at:

By post:
Service User Feedback Team
NIAS Headquarters
Site 30, Knockbracken Healthcare Park

Saintfield Road

Belfast

BT8 8SG

By email: complaints@nias.hscni.net

By phone: 028 9040 0999 (9am to 2pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays)

Normally you must make your complaint within six months of:

• the event you want to complain about, or
• finding out that you have a reason to complain

In exceptional circumstances (for example bereavement, poor health, communication difficulties, limited support or you may have only recently become aware of the issue(s) of concern) we may be able to accept a complaint after the time limit. If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why. If we decide that, because of the time that has passed since the incident occurred, we cannot consider your complaint, we will confirm our rationale in writing.

Sometimes service users persist unreasonably with their complaints rather than resolving a grievance.

For example, this could involve making serial complaints about different matters or continuing to raise the same or similar matters. The frequency of a service user’s contact with the Trust can hinder the consideration of their complaints and the Trust’s ability to provide a quality service.

The Trust believes it is important to distinguish between people who make different complaints because they genuinely believe things have gone wrong and people whose behaviour is unreasonable or abusive. Each complaint must be considered on its own merit and a decision made as to whether it is genuine or vexatious.

As a service user of the Trust, you have the right to expect the best possible services. If we fall short, you have the right to complain. When you complain, we ask you to follow these guiding principles:

• provide adequate details of your complaint
• set out clearly the cause for dissatisfaction
• provide accurate details and supporting correspondence or other relevant supporting evidence
• if there has been a delay in submitting your complaint explain the cause of that delay
• explain what you believe to be a satisfactory outcome
• treat our staff with good manners, politeness and respect at all times
• accept that we will act fairly and promptly in dealing with your complaint
• be reasonable and open minded and listen to reasonable explanations; and
• be realistic. It may not always be possible to achieve the outcome you want.

We will always tell you who is dealing with your complaint and/or provide you with contact information if you have further enquires.  Our Complaints Handling Procedure has two stages:

Stage 1: Frontline Response

We aim to resolve complaints quickly and close to where we provided the service. Where

appropriate, this could mean an on-the-spot apology and explanation if something has clearly gone wrong, with immediate action to resolve the problem.

Sometimes we will have to make some enquiries before we can respond to your complaint. It is our aim to give you our decision at Stage 1 within 5 working days or less, however there may be circumstances where we need more time to provide you with a full and complete response. If this is the case, we will provide you with a decision within ten working days.

If we cannot resolve your complaint at this stage, we will explain why and tell you what you can do next. We will explain that a more detailed investigation may be required under Stage 2 of the Complaint Procedure. You should include details of what you remain dissatisfied with and what outcome you are looking for. This should be done within 30 days of receiving the outcome at Stage 1 of the process. In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a stage 2 complaint after the time limit. If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why.

Stage 2: Investigation

Stage 2 deals with two types of complaint: those that have not been resolved at Stage 1 and those that are complex and require a detailed investigation that cannot be achieved within 5 working days.

At Stage 2 we will:

• acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 3 working days
• where appropriate, discuss your complaint with you to understand why you remain dissatisfied and what outcome you are looking for
• try to resolve the complaint where possible through alternative resolution approaches such as mediation or conciliation; and
• explain the timeframe for a Stage 2 written response, which we should provide within 20 working days

If our investigation will take longer than 20 working days, we will tell you. We will agree revised time limits with you and keep you updated on progress.

After we have given you our final decision, if you are still dissatisfied with either our decision or the way in which we have dealt with your complaint, you can ask the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) to look at it. NIPSO is the final stage for complaints about HSC services in Northern Ireland. NIPSO is an independent organisation that investigates complaints. The service provided by NIPSO is free. It is not an advocacy or support service (but there are other organisations who can help you with advocacy or support).

NIPSO generally expect complaints to be brought to them within six months since you received correspondence from us informing you that the complaints handling procedure is complete and of your right to refer your complaint to NIPSO.

NIPSO will generally ask you to provide details of your complaint and a copy of our final response to your complaint. You can contact NIPSO online or call 0800 34 34 24.

You may wish to get independent support or advocacy to help you progress your complaint. See Getting help to make my complaint.

NIPSO’s contact details are:

The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman
33 Wellington Place
Belfast
BT1 6HN

Freephone: 0800 34 34 24
Email: nipso@nipso.org.uk
Web: NIPSO

If you would like to visit NIPSO in person, you must make an appointment.

Their freepost address is: FREEPOST NIPSO

If NIPSO cannot investigate your complaint and your complaint requires an alternative route for independent review, NIPSO will tell you and provide you with the relevant contact details.

We understand that you may be unable, or reluctant, to make a complaint yourself. We accept

complaints from the representative of a service user who is dissatisfied with our service as long as the service user has given their permission for us to deal with that person. We can take complaints from a friend, relative, or an advocate, if you have given them your consent to complain for you.

The Patient Client Council (PCC) (link opens in new window) is an organisation that provides free and confidential advice and support to patients and other members of the public in relation to HSC services. The service promotes an awareness and understanding of the rights and responsibilities of patients and can advise and support people who wish to make a complaint about an HSC organisation. Further information and contact details can be found on the PCC website or email: info@pcc-ni.net or by telephoning on 0800 917 0222.

We are committed to making our services easy to use for all members of the community. In line with our statutory equality duties, we will always ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to help you to access and use our services. If you have trouble putting your complaint in writing, or want this information in another language or format, tell us in person, contact us through an interpreter (if required) on 028 9040 0999 or email us at complaints@nias.hscni.net

We can also provide information in other languages and formats, for example:

• easy read versions of your complaints information
• sign language videos of your complaints information
• complaint information in other languages
• how to request information in other formats for example large font, or in a different language
• how to request an interpreter
• who to contact if the service user would like to discuss their accessibility requirements or have

When we look into a complaint, we may need to review information from the service user’s health or social care records to help us understand what happened and provide a full response.

It is good practice for us to explain what information may be shared, why it might be needed, and who may have access to it. Only staff directly involved in investigating the complaint will see this information, and it will be used solely for that purpose.

If a service user prefers that their information is not shared, we will respect their wishes. However, this may limit what we can investigate or the outcome we can provide. In some cases, we may still need to continue the investigation if there is an overriding public interest, such as a concern for safety.

Complaints by a third party should be made with the verbal or written consent of the individual concerned. There will be situations where it is not possible to obtain consent, such as when the:

• individual is a child and not of sufficient age or understanding to make a complaint on their own behalf;
• individual is incapable (for example, rendered unconscious due to an accident;
• individual has impaired judgement as a result of a learning disability, mental illness, brain injury or serious communication problems);
• subject of the complaint is deceased; and
• delay in the provision of consent may result in a delay in the resolution of the complaint.