Making a complaint
If you are not happy with the service you have received from the NHS in England or a UK government department, you have the right to make a complaint.
Hearing from people when things go wrong is really important. Sharing your experience can improve services for everyone and help stop mistakes happening again.
This guide tells you more about how to complain and what to expect. You can also read our top tips on how to make a complaint.
How to make a complaint
Before you make a complaint, you could share your views and experiences with a member of staff. Feel confident in raising your concerns. Staff should welcome your feedback because it can help to improve services.
Get advice if you need it
If you want help and advice about making a complaint, there are lots of organisations that can support you.
For example, if you have a complaint about your healthcare you can speak to your local Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). If you are complaining about a government department or service, your local Citizens Advice will be able to give you more information.
If you want to make a formal complaint, you should do this within 12 months of when the problem happened or from when you first became aware of it.
Each organisation will have its own complaints process. You can usually find this on its website or by asking staff. After you have sent your complaint, the organisation should explain what will happen next, how it will deal with your complaint and how long it will take.
The organisation must deal with your complaint properly and investigate it as quickly as it can. It should respond to your complaint in writing. This should tell you how it carried out the investigation and what it found. If it made mistakes, it should apologise to you. The organisation should explain any lessons learned or changes it will make to put things right.
If you are not happy with how the organisation handled your complaint, you can ask us to look into it.
You can complain to us if you have reached the end of the organisation’s complaints process and you still do not feel the issue has been sorted out. This can include a review process by some government services.
There are time limits for making your complaint to us, and these are set out in law.
If your complaint is about a government service, you will need to ask a Member of Parliament (MP) to bring the complaint to us.
Find out more about how to complain to us and how we deal with complaints.
What to expect when you make a complaint
The Complaint Standards explain how organisations should approach complaint handling. They say organisations should:
- welcome complaints in a positive way
- be thorough and fair
- give fair and accountable responses
- promote a learning culture.
When organisations meet the Complaint Standards you should feel:
- confident to speak up
- that making your complaint was simple
- listened to and understood
- that your complaint made a difference
- confident to make a complaint in the future.
Where to get more help
If you need help making a complaint, our website has more information about getting advice and support.