• You can make a complaint if you are, or are likely to be, affected by something that NHS Lanarkshire has done or failed to do.
• If you are complaining for another person, NHS Lanarkshire or your health service provider will need to check that the person has agreed to you making the complaint on their behalf. It will also need to check they have consented to personal information about their healthcare being shared as part of the complaints-handling process. If they have not agreed or consented, the NHS Board or service provider will need to take that into account when handling and responding to your complaint. However, all complaints are recorded and reviewed because this helps the NHS find ways of improving services.
  • Patient Consent Mandate

You can complain for another person if:

• the person is a child and you are their parent, guardian or main carer and they are not mature enough to understand how to make a complaint – but if they are mature enough, they can make a complaint themselves or agree to someone else complaining on their behalf
• When a child under the age of 18 makes a complaint, or an adult does so on their behalf, we are developing processes to handle complaints in a manner that respects and promotes children’s rights,  in support of the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman’s Child Friendly Principles and Child Friendly Procedure Guidance.

  Child Friendly Complaints are in accordance with the United Nation Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC) (Incorporation)(Scotland) Act 2024.

• you have a welfare power of attorney or a welfare guardianship order for someone who cannot make decisions for themselves, and the order permits you to make a complaint about health care
• you are a relative of, or were in a relationship with, a patient who has died and you are concerned about how they were treated before they died, or
• you are acting as an advocate for the patient

Things you can complain about using the NHS Lanarkshire procedure include:

• care or treatment you have had or are having in NHS Lanarkshire
• anything to do with the place where you are seen, for example a GP practice, a hospital, a dental practice, an optician, a pharmacy, or a prison health centre
• any NHS staff member involved in your care
• how NHS services in your local area are organised if this has affected your care or

If your complaint also involves another part of the NHS, or if it relates to a health service and a social work service, then staff may need to pass it on to someone there. They will explain how your complaint will be handled and who will respond to you. Wherever possible, organisations will work together to provide a single response to your complaint covering all the issues raised.

If your complaint relates to a health service and a social work service, the response will depend on whether these services are being provided through a single, integrated health and social care partnership. For further details please contact NHS Lanarkshire.

Complaints that are dealt with under different procedures

Some things you may wish to complain about are not handled through the NHS complaints procedure. These include:

• private health care or treatment
• services not provided or funded by the NHS, and
• anything you are taking legal action

Staff receiving such a complaint will refer the matter to the appropriate person and inform you of this and the procedure you can use.

These are independent of the NHS in Scotland and are contracted to provide services on behalf of NHS Boards. This means they are responsible for running the business affairs of their own practice, which includes responding to complaints. To avoid delays we encourage you to contact your practice directly. Once you have contacted the practice, they will advise you on how they intend to consider and attempt to resolve the issues you have raised.

For your information, the Patient Advice and Support Service (PASS) can help you with independent advice and support if you need it in terms of raising a complaint.  You can contact them by telephone on 0800 917 2127.  Alternatively you can go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau or visit their website https://www.cas.org.uk/pass.

Further Information

• Registering with a GP practice

If you can, first talk to a member of staff involved in your care. If you do this, they can try to sort out your complaint on the spot.

If you cannot or you do not wish to do this, you can ask to speak to a senior member of staff or the Patient Affairs Manager. See contacts listed below

If you prefer to complain in writing rather than in person or over the phone, you can send a letter or an email to the relevant NHS organisation. When complaining, you should give:

• your full name and address (and the patient’s full name and address if you are complaining for them)
• as much helpful information as possible about what happened, where it happened and when
• information about how you want the matter to be resolved, and
• your phone number, if you are happy to provide it, so that we can call you to discuss your complaint

Giving us this information will help us clearly identify the problem and what we need to do to resolve things.

See contacts listed below

The NHS has a time limit for accepting complaints. Normally, you must make your complaint within six months of:

• the event you want to complain about, or
• finding out you have a reason to complain, but no longer than 12 months after the event

However, if you feel the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please speak to the person dealing with it. A complaint can sometimes be accepted after the time limit.

You can complain to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman about an NHS decision not to accept your complaint.

You can change your mind about making a complaint at any time. Please let the person handling your complaint know as soon as possible.

NHS Lanarkshire aims to resolve complaints quickly and as close to the point of service as possible. This could mean an on-the-spot apology and an explanation if something has clearly gone wrong, and immediate action to resolve the problem.

The NHS has a two-stage complaints procedure. There’s also the right to take your complaint to the Ombudsman if you are unhappy with NHS Lanarkshire’s investigation.

The early resolution stage (Stage 1)

If your complaint is straightforward and can be easily resolved, staff will try to sort it out in five working days or less, unless there are exceptional circumstances. This stage of the complaints process is called ‘early resolution’.

The investigation stage (Stage 2)

If your complaint is more serious and complex, or has not been resolved at the early resolution stage, it will need to be investigated. This is called the ‘investigation stage’.

At the investigation stage, staff will write to you within three working days to acknowledge your complaint. They may also get in touch by phone to discuss your complaint with you and to understand what outcome you are looking for.

Staff will write to you with a full response within 20 working days of receiving your complaint at the investigation stage. This response should:

• show that staff have looked into your complaint
• reply to all the points you made
• offer you an apology if things have gone wrong
• explain what action has been taken or will be taken to stop what you complained about happening again
• if necessary, explain why NHS Lanarkshire cannot do anything more about some parts of your complaint
• offer you the chance to talk to a member of staff if there is anything in the letter you don’t understand, and
• include information about the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman in case you are unhappy with the response or the way your complaint has been handled and you want to take things

In some cases, we may need more time to give you a full response and we may not be able to keep to these times. If this happens, staff will let you know and tell you why.

Other people can help you with advice:

Independent advice and support

• If you would like to speak to someone for advice or help with making a complaint, please ask a staff member for details about the independent Patient Advice and Support Service. It’s available in your area through the local Citizens Advice Bureau.

Advocacy

• If you want someone to help you express your views, you can ask for an an advocate who is independent of the NHS. They can help make sure your views are heard and get you access to the information you need to make your own decisions. You can speak to Patient Affairs staff about advocacy in NHS Lanarkshire.

Mediation 

• Some complaints can be resolved through mediation. This is a service where independent mediators help the parties to reach an agreement. You can ask for mediation or Health Boards may offer to provide it, but it can go ahead only if both parties agree to it. You can speak to Patient Affairs staff about mediation in NHS Lanarkshire.

If the NHS has fully investigated your complaint and you’re still not happy, you can ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman to look at it.

The Ombudsman cannot normally look at:

• a complaint that has not completed our complaints procedure, so please make sure it has done so before contacting the Ombudsman
• events that happened, or that you became aware of, more than 12 months ago, or
• a matter that has been or is being considered in

You can contact the Ombudsman:

In person

Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
Bridgeside House
99 McDonald Road
Edinburgh
EH7 4NS

By post

Freepost SPSO (You don’t need to use a stamp)

By phone: 0800 377 7330
Website www.spso.org.uk
Online contact www.spso.org.uk/contact-form