One Stop Guide for
Complaints about Healthcare
in Northern Ireland
Getting help with your complaint
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About the Professional Standards Authority
The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care promotes the health, safety
and wellbeing of patients, service users and the public by raising standards of regulation and
voluntary registration of people working in health and care. We are an independent body,
accountable to the UK Parliament.
We oversee the work of ten statutory bodies that regulate health professionals in the UK and
social workers in England. We review the regulators’ performance and audit and scrutinise
their decisions about whether people on their registers are fit to practise.
We also set standards for organisations holding voluntary registers for people in unregulated
health and care occupations and accredit those organisations that meet our standards.
To encourage improvement we share good practice and knowledge, conduct research and
introduce new ideas including our concept of right-touch regulation.
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We monitor policy
developments in the UK and internationally and provide advice to governments and others on
matters relating to people working in health and care. We also undertake some international
commissions to extend our understanding of regulation and to promote safety in the mobility
of the health and care workforce.
Our organisational values are: integrity, transparency, respect, fairness and teamwork. We
strive to ensure that our values are at the core of our work. More information about our work
and the approach we take is available at www.professionalstandards.org.uk.
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Right-touch regulation revised (2015). Available at www.professionalstandards.org.uk/policy-and-
research/right-touch-regulation
Although we do not investigate complaints
about healthcare, people often contact us
and ask us to help so we have put this
guide together to help you.
We realise making a complaint about your
healthcare or about the treatment provided
to a relative can sometimes be a difficult
decision to make.
Health and Social Care (HSC) services in
Northern Ireland are made up from
numerous different organisations and it is
not always clear when, where and how to
raise concerns. Getting an answer to your
concerns is not always straightforward and
it is important to ensure that you direct your
complaint to the correct organisation so that
your complaint can be investigated properly. If you are thinking about making a
complaint, there are organisations which can help and guide you through the HSC
complaints procedure.
This quick reference guide presents the options you have when making a
complaint about the HSC services in Northern Ireland and where complaints about
non HSC care should be taken.
Christine Braithwaite
Director, Standards and Policy
Contents
If you want to complain about health and social care .................................................... 5
If you want to complain about the care you paid for (non NHS) .................................... 8
If you want to complain about care provided outside of Northern Ireland in the UK ...... 8
If you want to share your experience about healthcare regulators ................................ 9
5
If you want to complain about health and
social care
First steps
If you feel able to do so, the best thing to do first is to raise your concern with the
people involved. This could be the doctor or nurse who treated you, their colleague
or line manager. Explain what happened, why you are unhappy and what you would
like to happen to help put things right (for example, an apology). You can raise the
concern yourself or you can give permission for someone to do it on your behalf.
Contacting the relevant Health and Social Care Trust
The Patient and Client Council provides full information on who you can contact or
complain to. Health and Social Care online provides information on which areas
each HSC Trust covers.
If you do not want to make a formal complaint
Ask for the name of someone appropriate for you to speak with or write to. For
example, the person in charge of the service you have concerns about or someone
from the complaints team. If you are not sure who you should talk with, ask the
organisation for help.
If you want to make a formal complaint
You should ask for the organisation’s complaint procedure before writing down your
concerns to help make sure you are making the complaint to the right person or
team.
Describe:
(1) What happened
(2) Who was involved
(3) When and where it took place
(4) How it has affected you
(5) What you would like to happen as a result of your complaint
(6) Ask for an acknowledgment of your complaint (you should receive this within
three days of making the complaint)
(7) Agree how often you will be kept updated on the progress of your complaint
(8) Make sure you give your name and contact details, and how you would like to
be contacted.
Please note that complaints should be made within 12 months of the event
leading to the complaint taking place and that organisations should provide
their full response within six months.
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If you want help with making your complaint
You can get free and confidential advice about the complaint process and help with
making your complaint from:
• The Patient and Client Council and they have produced a complaints guide.
Telephone: 0800 917 0222 or Email: [email protected]
If you want to escalate your complaint under the HCS complaints procedure:
referral to the Northern Ireland Ombudsman
If you have completed the first stage of the HCS complaints procedure and do not
think that your concerns have been properly looked at, you can complain to the
Northern Ireland Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can be telephoned on: 0800 34 34
24. Follow the link for information on how the Ombudsman will consider your
complaint.
If you want to complain about mental health care
You can complain about mental health care through the HSC complaints process.
If you want to complain about the ambulance service
If you want to complain about the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service HSC Trust
you can do so at: http://www.niamb.co.uk/ and by telephone on: 028 9040 0999. The
Trust also produces a leaflet detailing how to make a complaint.
If you want to complain about the regulatory organisations
If you are concerned about the conduct of a health professional or have fitness to
practise concerns, you can complain to the relevant regulatory organisations (listed
below). You can do this at the same time as complaining to the health organisation
or to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Citizens Advice provide general guidance on how to complain to the regulators.
You can consult the individual regulatory organisations for advice on when and how
to bring concerns to their attention, by the following links or telephone numbers:
• Nursing and Midwifery Council (nurses and midwives) Telephone: 020 7637
7181
• General Medical Council (GPs, hospital doctors and surgeons) Telephone:
0161 923 6602
• Health and Care Professions Council (arts therapists, biomedical scientists,
chiropodists /podiatrists, clinical scientists, dietitians, hearing aid dispensers,
occupational therapists, operating department practitioners, orthoptists,
paramedics, physiotherapists, practitioner psychologists, prosthetists
/orthotists, radiographers and speech and language therapists) Telephone:
0800 328 4218
• General Dental Council (dental professionals) Telephone: 020 7167 6000
• Pharmaceutical Society Northern Ireland (pharmacists) Telephone: 028 9032
6927
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• General Optical Council (optometrists and dispensing opticians) Telephone:
020 7580 3898
• General Osteopathic Council (osteopaths) Telephone: 020 7357 6655
• General Chiropractic Council (chiropractors) Telephone: 020 7713 5155.
• The Northern Ireland Social Care Council (Social workers and social care
staff) Telephone 028 9536 2600
Action against Medical Accidents (AVMA) provides advice for people who have
referred their complaint to a regulatory organisation. It can be contacted at:
Telephone: 0845 123 2352.
If you have concerns about a breach of standards and/or care regulations
The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority is the independent body
responsible for monitoring and inspecting the availability and quality of health and
social care services in Northern Ireland, and encouraging improvements in the
quality of those services.
Whilst the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority does not investigate
individual complaints, it works to ensure through its regulatory activities, that all
regulated services: have an effective complaints procedure; take complaints
seriously; and investigate complaints thoroughly, in line with complaints guidelines.
If you have concerns about a potential breach of regulations or minimum care
standards, you can contact the Regulation and Quality Improvement by email
at: [email protected] and by telephone: 028 9536 1111 and their website is at:
https://www.rqia.org.uk/
If you want to complain about a social worker
You can complain about the conduct of a social care worker to the Northern Ireland
Social Care Council. They can be contacted on: 028 9536 2600.
If you have a safeguarding concern
If you think that a child or vulnerable adult might have been harmed, or might be at
risk of harm, you should contact the relevant HSC trust.
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (covering local council areas of Belfast and
Castlereagh);
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (covering local council areas of
Newtownards, Down, North Down and Lisburn);
Northern Health and Social Care Trust (covering local council areas of Coleraine,
Moyle, Larne, Antrim, Carrickfergus, Newtownabbey, Ballymoney, Ballymena,
Magherafelt and Cookstown);
Southern Health and Social Care Trust (covering local council areas of Dungannon,
Armagh, Craigavon, Banbridge and Newry and Mourne);
Western Health and Social Care Trust (covering local council areas of Derry,
Limavady, Strabane, Omagh, and Fermanagh)
The sixth NI HSC Trust is the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Trust.
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If you want to complain about non-HSC care
Not all care is provided by the HSC. Some treatment is privately paid for and is given
by organisations which do not belong to the HSC. This is sometimes called private
healthcare or independent sector healthcare.
If your complaint is about privately funded healthcare, you should complain to the
healthcare provider. It would be helpful to check before you make the complaint
whether you can complain under the HSC complaints procedure. If you are not sure,
ask the organisation who has given the care.
Once you have a response to your complaint and if you remain unhappy, you may
have the option of going to the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service
(ISCAS) which represents some independent healthcare providers. You can find out
whether the organisation you have a complaint about is a member and access their
complaint forms here: www.iscas.org.uk. ISCAS telephone number is: 020 7536
6091.
If you want to make a personal injury claim
If you think you have suffered personal injury and wish to claim compensation, you
should consult a solicitor.
• The Law Society gives details of solicitors who are members of its personal
injury accreditation scheme at: www.lawsociety.org.uk
• Citizens Advice provides information on making personal injury claims. Its
advice functions in Northern Ireland are now run by Advice NI.
If you think that a criminal offence has been committed
If you think that a criminal offence has been committed during your healthcare, you
should contact the Police. Details of your local police can be found at:
https://www.psni.police.uk/
If you want to complain about care provided
outside of Northern Ireland in the UK
For details about how to complain about care in England, Scotland and Wales
please click here:
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If you want to share your experience about
healthcare regulators
The Professional Standards Authority
We promote the health, safety and wellbeing of patients, service users and the public
by raising standards of regulation and voluntary registration of people working in
health and care. We are an independent organisation, accountable to the UK
Parliament. We oversee the work of ten statutory organisations that regulate health
professionals in the UK and social workers in England. We review the regulators’
performance and audit and scrutinise their decisions about whether people on their
registers are fit to practise. We can refer final fitness to practise panel decisions to
court where we believe they are unduly lenient and do not protect the public.
You can help us check that the regulators are meeting the Standards of Good
Regulation by sharing your experience about the regulators or accredited registers.
When we review their performance, as we do each year, we take account of many
sorts of information. This includes things the regulators tell us, things we observe or
read and things you and others tell us.
We would like to hear about your experiences to help us see what they do well and
where they might need to improve. We will use the information you give us to help us
build an overall picture of their performance. We publish a report about each
regulator’s performance every year and we will send you a copy if you would like us
to. We may not mention your information in the report, but you can be sure we take it
into account.
You can share your experience here
*If you want to make a complaint about a health or care professional or about the
regulator, please contact the regulator direct as we do not have the power to
investigate complaints.
Professional Standards Authority
December 2019
