Complaints and concerns
How do I make a complaint or tell the NHS about a concern I have about local health services?
You have the right to make a complaint if you are not satisfied with the care you received from the NHS.
In the first instance, patients are encouraged to make their complaints directly to the Primary Care Organisation itself, i.e. the GP Surgery, the Dental Practice, Pharmacy or Optometrist.
However, if the patient would prefer to make their complaint to the commissioner of the service, they can contact the NHS England contact centre as follows:
NHS Customer Centre on 0300 311 22 33 or by email:
The complaint is logged at the contact centre and the details are then forwarded directly to the Area Team for processing.
If the patient has already complained in the first instance to the organisation itself, and you have provided a response in full, the complainant cannot then bring their complaint to the NHS England Area Team. They must either come back to you to establish if more can be done to achieve local resolution, or they should be directed to the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), who they can ask to review their complaint.
If you have a complaint about a GP or dental practice, you can contact NHS England using the details below:
In post:
NHS England
PO Box 16738
Redditch, B97 9PT
By phone:
0300 311 22 33
By email:
england.contactus@nhs.net
If you have a complaint about any other local services or require further information about where to get advice, see our south Essex signposting info.
The NHS complaints procedure
For more advice about the NHS complaints procedure, including information about your rights, who can help you with your complaint and where to start, visit NHS Choices:
www.nhs.uk/choiceintheNHS/Rightsandpledges/complaints/Pages/NHScomplaints.aspx