Step 3 of 3
Your options
You have been through your records. Now choose what to do next. You can do either, or both.
No report on this device yet
Step 2 makes your report. Go to step 2. You can still write a letter below and type in the facts yourself.
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Write a complaint letter
To the relevant PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) or the trust’s complaints team. We start the letter from your report. You edit it and send it yourself.
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Download or print my report
Keep the summary, chronology and points to ask about. Take it to your GP, a solicitor, an advocate or an appointment.
Your report
Report on my medical records
Write your letter
How NHS complaints work in England
- PALS (informal). The Patient Advice and Liaison Service, found in most hospitals, can try to sort things out quickly without a formal complaint, and can explain the process. About PALS (NHS)
- Formal complaint to the provider (or its commissioner). You complain to the trust, GP practice or other provider, or to the local integrated care board (ICB), but not both. Expect an acknowledgement within 3 working days. You get a written response. NHS England: complaints
- The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). If you are not happy with the final response, you can ask the PHSO (its website now says “Public Service Ombudsman”) to look at it, normally within a year of when you became aware of the problem. Making a complaint to the Ombudsman
Time limit: a complaint should normally be made within 12 months of the matter happening, or of when you found out about it. It can be accepted later if you have good reasons and a fair investigation is still possible.
Free help: an NHS complaints advocate can help you write a letter and attend meetings (search “NHS complaints advocacy” for your area, or ask your local Healthwatch). If you are thinking about legal action, speak to a regulated solicitor, and note that legal time limits are different. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different routes.
Your letter (you can edit it)
Read it through and check every fact before you send it. We do not send it for you: you post or email it yourself and keep a copy. This is a template, not legal advice.