Compliments and complaints

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Your right to be heard - How to give feedback or make a complaint

Chrissie explains how to give feedback or make a complaint to Oxleas. She also outlines how the trust views complaints and how we respond to them.

Hello, I’m Chrissie Strickland and I’m Head of Complaints and Patient and Public Liaison Service (PALS)

Everyone has a right to be heard and if people are happy, or unhappy with our services we want to know about it. If you feel there is something wrong you can talk to your nurse or care co-ordinator or you can contact PALS, our patient advice and liaison service.

PALS is here to listen to your concerns and try to sort them out for you as quickly as possible. The PALS officer will contact staff to clarify the situation and seek a satisfactory resolution for you.

If you are still not happy you can complain.

Its always best to make your complaint as soon as possible after the event that you are unhappy about. This means that the memories of everyone involved are still fresh and we can gather all the evidence that we need.

You should write a letter of complaint, giving as much information as possible about what, where and when it happened. Don’t forget to include your contact details.

You can send your letter to the Chief Executive or the Complaints Department.

If you don’t want to write a letter you can email your complaint or phone us.

We will contact your within 3 working days after receiving your complaint to make arrangements to resolve your complaint.

If you need independent advice or support about your complaint you can contact the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS). Tel 0845 120 3784

Our reply to you will include details of how we have investigated your concerns and what the outcome of the investigation is. This might mean giving an apology or explaining what changes we will make.

If you are not happy with our response you can ask for a meeting with a senior member of staff to provide further explanations.

If after this you still feel your concerns have not been resolved you can take your complaint to the Trust’s Appeals Panel

If you remain dissatisfied with the way your complaint was handled you have the right to ask the Health Ombudsman to review your case. You should do this within 6 months of receiving our response.

Our aim is to treat your concerns seriously and to learn from any mistakes that have been made.

For further information about complaints you con contact the complaints dept on 01322 625 751

We welcome your views on the services we provide. If you would like to make a comment, suggestion or complaint, we recommend in the first instance that you contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

If you would like to make a formal complaint, you may contact us using our confidential online form with any compliment or complaint about our services, which will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Alternatively, you may wish to write to us directly. If this is the case, please contact:

Head of Complaints and PPI
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Pinewood House
Pinewood Place
Dartford
Kent DA2 7WG

Tel: 01322 625751

Email: complaints@oxleas.nhs.uk

For further guidance on how to complain, watch our video (top of page) or read our leaflet (294kb).

What we will do after receiving your complaint

We will contact you within three working days to acknowledge your complaint
We will try to speak to you directly about your concerns and the outcomes you are looking for. We will also agree the arrangements for dealing with your complaint.
We will ask the appropriate managers to carry out a thorough investigation.
Our reply to you will show you how the investigation was carried out and what the outcomes of the investigation are.