Making a complaint

At Northamptonshire NHS Healthcare Foundation Trust (NHFT), we consider it very important that we hear the views of anyone who comes into contact with our services. If you are someone who has been affected or are likely to be affected by something the Trust has done, or should have done, you can make a complaint. Care will not be adversely affected by any comments or complaints you make. In fact, it is more likely to help things improve for everyone

You can find out more information about our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) by clicking here. PALS are here to help with advice, compliments and concerns about your NHFT experience. 

How to make a complaint

You have several options on how to make a complaint;

  • You can speak or write to any member of staff and they will try to sort out the issues immediately with you and explain how we can help you to resolve your concerns
  • You can also leave your comments by providing patient feedback
  • You can complete an online form which will be sent to our Complaints Team

Complaints Contact Form

  • You can call the patient advice and liaison service PALS free on 03000 273 708 9am to 4pm
  • You can call our complaints department free on 03000 273 700, 9am to 4pm
  • You can email PALS or the complaints team at PALS@nhft.nhs.uk or complaints@nhft.nhs.uk
  • You can write to either the complaints manager or the chief executive at:

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
St Mary's Hospital
London Road
NN15 7PW

Our Commitment

We are committed to learning from what people share with us. This feedback is a vital source of information that helps us to develop and improve our services and the care that we provide.

If you make a complaint, we promise to:

  • Listen carefully
  • Take you seriously
  • Provide you with an explanation
  • Do all we can to make amends

All the complaints we receive are treated confidentially and sensitively, and you can be assured that your care or treatment will not be adversely affected by making a complaint. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we will need their consent to share details to do with their care with you. This is to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998.

The Trust embraces the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's Principles of Good Complaint Handling and is committed to:

  • Getting it right
  • Being customer focused
  • Being open and accountable
  • Acting fairly and proportionately
  • Putting things right
  • Seeking continuous improvement

Support available to help you

The team are here to help and are happy to listen to your comments, suggestions and complaints. If you would like further help with making your complaint, you can use the local NHS Complaints Advocacy service who are able to provide free, independent support. The advocacy service provider will depend on where in Northamptonshire you live. If you are unsure which local authority area a postcode is under, you can check this at www.gov.uk/find-local-council

If you live in the North Northamptonshire local authority area, the provider is VoiceAbility. Their contact details are as follows:

Telephone: 0300 330 5454 (Monday to  Friday, 9am to 5pm)
Email: nhscomplaints@voiceability.org
Voice Ability website: www.voiceability.org

Address: NHS Complaints Advocacy, Voiceability, Doddridge Centre, 109 St James Road, Northampton, NN5 5LD

 

If you live in the West Northamptonshire local authority area, the provider is POhWER. Their contact details are as follows:

Telephone: 0300 456 2370

Email: nhscomplaints@pohwer.net

POhWER website: www.pohwer.net/

Address: POhWER, PO Box 17943, Birmingham, B9 9PB

 

Details can be found below:

POhWER - Do you have an NHS complaint? [pdf] 889KB

VoiceAbility Easy Read - Help to complain about the NHS: How an advocate can help [pdf] 224KB

NHS VoiceAbility - Take me seriously leaflet [pdf] 632KB

We want to support you through this difficult time. We appreciate all that families and carers do for their loved ones every day. We have good links with Northamptonshire Carers who can offer support in lots of different ways. You can contact them on 01933 677907 and more information can be found on their website - visit the website for Northamptonshire Carers. The Rethink Mental Health Charity also offers support for carers. More information can be found on the We are Rethink Mental Illness website.

Sometimes those who have had cause to raise concerns may feel worried about any impact that this might have on any care that the Trust provides to them or their family. Please be assured that care and treatment will not in any way be adversely affected by raising concerns. However, if you have any worries about this, please contact us and we will always do our best to help.