At University College London Hospitals we try to provide excellent healthcare. We need your feedback on our services so that we can improve them.
If you would like to express appreciation or make a suggestion, please speak to the person in charge of the ward, clinic or department. You can also use the Trust feedback and comment cards available on wards and departments. If you prefer, write to our Chief Executive Sir Robert Naylor, at:
Trust Headquarters, UCLH
2nd Floor Central
250 Euston Road
London NW1 2PG
Email: pals@uclh.nhs.uk
If you are not satisfied with your hospital experience please speak to the person in charge of the ward or clinic. We are keen to ensure the highest standards of patient care and will try to resolve any problems quickly.
You can also speak to our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) who will help with your problem quickly and informally. Contact PALS on 020 3447 3042.
If you are still not satisfied you can make a formal complaint. This will not affect your hospital treatment in any way.
Click here to read our patient information leaflet: “Making a complaint”
You can do this within 12 months of the events concerned, or within 12 months of becoming aware of the problem. Your complaint will be recorded as part of our formal complaints policy. Please write with full details to the Chief Executive (details above) or to the Complaints Manager at:
Governance Department, UCLH
2nd Floor West
250 Euston Road
London
NW1 2PG
Fax: 020 7380 9595
Email: complaints.officer@uclh.nhs.uk
The Trust is committed to ensuring that all of our users can access our complaints service. To enable users who are hearing impaired to make a complaint the Text relay service may be of benefit.
Text relay is the UK’s text to voice relay service for deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired people. Further details of how the service can be used is available at:
http://www.textrelay.org
ICAS is an independent organisation that gives help, advice and support to people who have a complaint about the NHS. If you would like independent advice and support with your complaint contact POhWER ICAS on 0845 120 3784 for details of your local office. www.pohwer.net
When we look into your complaint we will normally need to refer to your health records and our response may require reference to medical information about you. If you do not want us to do this please tell us but this may limit our ability to deal with your complaint. If you wish to discuss the implications of this further you can contact the UCLH Caldicott Guardian, who is a senior person responsible for protecting patient confidentiality and can be contacted at:
Caldicott Guardian
University College London Hospitals London NHS Trust
Box 29
National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
Queen Square
London WC1N 3BG
Telephone: 0203 108 0125
If you are making a complaint on behalf of someone else, we require their written consent for their personal information to be shared in this way (this is to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998).
Once your complaint is received we will:
- Send you an acknowledgement letter within three working days of receiving your complaint
- Contact you by phone to talk about what happened and to agree how you would like the complaint dealt with
- Investigate and send a reply within 25 working days, unless we agree a different timescale during the telephone conversation
If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint you can ask us to:
- Clarify points or give you further information
- Arrange a meeting. You can bring a relative, friend or representative with you
- Look at your complaint again.
If you are not happy with the results of our investigation, you have the right to take your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman for their opinion. The Ombudsman is independent of government and the NHS. The service is confidential and free. They will only consider your case if it has first been investigated by the Trust. If you wish to refer your complaint to the Ombudsman, you should do so within six months of the date of the Trust’s final response. The Ombudsman may waive the time limits if she thinks there is a good reason to do so. The Ombudsman can be contacted at:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London SW1P 4QP
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.ombusdman.org.uk
If you have any queries about whether the Ombudsman will be able to take up your case, please contact her helpline on 0345 051 4033.
All complaints are recorded on a central database. Reports on complaints go to the Trust’s Board of Directors, the Patient Issues Committee and local primary care trusts. These reports do not identify patients or complainants. We use the lessons we learn from complaints to improve services for patients.
All our complaints information can be provided in large print or translated into other languages. Please let us know if you require another language or format.