What if you’re still unhappy?

We aim to do our best to put things right if you are unhappy with our service. If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint we will offer to discuss it with you to see if we can do more to resolve it.

If you are still unhappy with the outcome of your complaint you can then complain to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is independent of the NHS and Government and can investigate complaints about services or treatment and how complaints have been handled.

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk

Your right to complain to the Care Quality Commission (Sections 120 and 134A of the Mental Health Act 1983)

If you have a complaint about your treatment under the Mental Health Act you can ask the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to help and investigate. The CQC is an independent body which makes sure that mental health law is used correctly and that patients are cared for properly while they are kept in a hospital or are on guardianship or on supervised community treatment.

Visit their website for contact details and more information: Complain about the use of the Mental Health Act | Care Quality Commission (cqc.org.uk)

You can contact the CQC while you are still in hospital or on guardianship or on supervised community treatment. But you can also contact them later if you want to.

The CQC visits hospitals regularly to meet patients and check that they are being treated properly under the Mental Health Act. If you are in hospital when the CQC visits, you can speak to them then. The ward manager can tell you the date of the next visit.

You may find that your complaint can be sorted out sooner if you raise it first with the people responsible for your care. They can also give you information about the local complaints procedure, which you can use to try to sort out your complaint locally.

Our Trust works with the CQC and the Ombudsman to try to resolve any complaints.

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