If you are worried or unhappy about any aspect of your care and treatment, we would advise you to speak to a member of the team involved in your care as soon as possible. They want to help you and will try to resolve your concerns immediately.
If you are uncomfortable in doing this, or are unsatisfied with the outcome, please contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). If your concerns are historic and require an investigation, please contact the Complaints Service. Contact details for both services are listed below along with other services which you may find useful.
Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS)
Opening Hours: Monday - Friday 09:00 - 16:00 (Office & phone lines closed between 12 - 1pm)
Telephone: 01604 545784, phone lines open 9 - 3pm.
If we are unable to take your call, please leave a voicemail & we will respond as soon as possible.
Email: ngh-tr.pals@nhs.net What can PALS help with?
We are here to provide information, guidance and support to patients, their families, and carers. Our aim is to hopefully provide a local resolution where possible by liaising with departments in trying to provide local resolutions to ongoing/current concerns. We cannot override or change a clinical decision.
The PALS service will aim to respond to all enquiries within 2-3 working days (although this is usually sooner).
Formal Complaint
If your concerns cannot be resolved informally with the staff involved and you wish to make a complaint in writing, it is important that you let us know as soon as possible to enable us to carry out a thorough investigation.
Please address your letter to the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire Chief Executive, c/o Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust, part of University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, Glebe House, Rothwell Road, Kettering, NN16 8UZ. Or you can email your letter to our complaints team ngh-tr.complaints@nhs.net
You can contact the complaints department by telephone as follows 01604-545774 (Open Monday - Friday from 09:00-12.30 (closed from 12:30-13.30) 13:30 – 15:30, excluding bank holidays).
Give as much information as you can. Include your name and address, telephone number, any names you remember of the staff caring for you, the ward or department and the dates of your stay. If you have a range of issues you would like answered, please number them. lf you are -complaining on behalf of a relative or friend, we will need a signed letter from them giving permission for us to discuss details of their care.
What happens next?
- Your complaint will be acknowledged within three days
- We will make enquiries or undertake a full investigation into your concerns; this will depend on the type of issues you raise
- You will receive a full response from us within an agreed timescale
- If we are unable to complete the investigation within the agreed timeframe, we will let you know
For further guidance on how to make a written complaint, you can download the following leaflets:
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
If you are not satisfied with the response from us, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman at:
The Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4QP
Telephone 0345 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Website www.ombudsman.org.uk
Other services who may be able to help you:
