Help with making a complaint to the NHS

VoiceAbility's NHS Complaints Advocacy Service

If you need to make a complaint to the NHS about care or treatment you have received from the NHS in Sheffield, but aren’t sure how to do it, we can help you.

What is NHS Complaints Advocacy?

The NHS Complaints Advocacy Service is a free, independent, locally based service that can help you make a complaint about the National Health Service (NHS).

Most of us use the NHS at some point in our lives and many of us use them quite regularly. The NHS work hard to make sure that people are satisfied with their services and receive good quality treatment, but sometimes things can go wrong. You may want to complain about a service you have received from the NHS, or you might want to complain on someone else’s behalf. There are different ways to do this and we can support you to explore your options.

How does advocacy work?

Advocates are specially trained in how to support you to make a complaint and to work with you so that you feel confident with the NHS complaints process.

As advocacy is about helping people to speak up for themselves, Advocates will not tell you what to do, or act on the wishes of other people. What your Advocate will do is help you to explore your options at the different complaint stages, and give you information that can help you decide what you wish to do next. Advocates can support you to write letters of complaint and attend meetings with you to try to resolve your complaint.

How can I find out more?

If you would like to discuss how to progress a complaint and whether you may need an Advocate to work with you, please contact VoiceAbility’s NHS Complaints Advocacy helpline on 0114 4070 081.

Our website nhscomplaintsadvocacy.org has a wide range of information to support you to make an NHS complaint by yourself, including self help information in Easy Read and large print version. You can also find out:

• How to make a complaint about an NHS service

• How to make a complaint a complaint about a private health service

• How an Advocate can support you

• More about the role of the Health Service Ombudsman

• How to download our Self Help Information Pack

Contact VoiceAbility

If you would like more information on our service and how our Advocates can support you, please contact us;

Write to: NHS Complaints Advocacy Service, VoiceAbility, Courtwood House, Silver Street Head, Sheffield, S1 2BH

Helpline: 0114 407 0081

Textphone: 07860 022 939

Fax: 0114 3863 163

Email: nhscomplaints@voiceability.org

Ive emailed a complaint recently about mums treatment in the Northern General, she has alzheimers and had a fall at home and fractured her ankle, been in there 5 weeks now and has had 3 falls, some of the staff do not give a monkeys, a couple are ok and helpful, she is not been looked after properly, they send security to her when she gets aggresive, found out 1 of the security men shouted at her to get back in bed, disgusting. I have asked numerous times for her to be moved to the dementia ward but was fobbed off, i am fuming, the sister said the security men had to protect the hospital, what> from a 73 yr old vulnerable woman with dementia?

Ive emailed a complaint recently about mums treatment in the Northern General, she has alzheimers and had a fall at home and fractured her ankle, been in there 5 weeks now and has had 3 falls, some of the staff do not give a monkeys, a couple are ok and helpful, she is not been looked after properly, they send security to her when she gets aggresive, found out 1 of the security men shouted at her to get back in bed, disgusting. I have asked numerous times for her to be moved to the dementia ward but was fobbed off, i am fuming, the sister said the security men had to protect the hospital, what> from a 73 yr old vulnerable woman with dementia?

reading your post you would think it was from the dark ages,graceful,hope your mom gets well enough to return home soon.

Sorry to read about the treatment your Mum is receiving. If you would like some support with your complaint please contact us. For the more immediate issues you could try contacting the Patient Services Team at the Hospital on 0114 271 2400, they may be able to assist you with the request for your Mum to move wards.

I have asked for help on several occasions from voicability and they have not offered to help me with my complaints, only signpost me on where to send complaint.that is when they finally got round to answering my call in their own time. Very disappointed in them

I'm sorry to hear that tralee. I have private messaged you.

---------- Post added 08-04-2016 at 12:30 ----------

Unfortunately it seems I am unable to private message you as we have not posted 5 times. Would you like to private message me and hopefully I can reply to you?

i made a complaint , dont think i would again like hitting your head against a brick wall, first they said wife had stopped complaint, so had to start again then they had a meeting and said sorry, they was at fault. but changed things that much about what happend. waste of time

When the members of a group or organization close ranks, they make an effort to stay united, especially in order to defend themselves from severe criticism:

I had a bad experience with a complaint to the NHS about how someone was being treated under a Mental Health Community centre in which the patient was given promise after promise but was left let down every time despite taking all the medication that was practically forced upon her and trying her upmost best during treatment. Begging for therapy to be told she is "too unstable" and seeking help for how to become more stable so she was able to partake in therapy sessions to just be brushed to one side and made empty promises to. She was spoken down to, made to feel hopeless and STILL struggles now. After making a complaint the Psychiatrist twisted every single aspect of the complaint to make it look bad on the patient and surprise surprise the NHS took the side of the psychiatrist leaving her with no hope of ever getting real help to improve her mental health and standard of life. The NHS don't take too well to complaints, in my opinion, so just tread careful and try to seek as much help and advice possible before composing a final complaint letter etc.

I wish you all the best in your complaint and I really hope it goes in your favour,

Regards

Please note Voiceability no longer provide the NHS Complaints Advocacy in Sheffield. This is now provided by the Sheffield Advocacy Hub, which is a partnership between Sheffield Advice (who run the hub), Disability Sheffield, and Cloverleaf Advocacy. The service they provide is as described the Voiceability Post above, but the contact details have changed.

https://sheffieldadvocacyhub.org.uk/

info@sheffieldadvocacyhub.org.uk

0800 035 0396

My wife is in the early stages of Dementia getting worse it is notMy wife was diagnosed with Dementia by RHs a year after I told them and my GP. But there assessment was floored. Possibly through lack of interest. !set September she was diagnosed .She was given tablets and the dosage increased to no avail. We had a nurse visited her  about every 3 month and a health visitor that came when she wanted too. With a huge nu bet of appointments being cancelled after ring arranged by her. My son went with my wife to see the consultant who they said that they would I crease visits. the next 2 were ok. But then the health visitor said she would go on holiday and would set a meeting for the day she went away. This was cancelled on the day and I was told someone else would set up a visit. 3 weeks after the wrong tablets  were sent. Despite the nurse being contacted by answer phone 3 times by me and 3 times by my son. No interest by her not even a reply..the local health centre is no better my wife went to see them as our phone and computer was down. My wife was sent back the first time.I am disabled and could not get t hete 

the reaction is not much better from the health centre she took a message to reception written by me for them to arrange a medi car she was sent home crying saying know one is interested in me. I have to contact the scretaties. Know one could be bothered to get of there arse to come to reception to see her. She came home in tears.

This all sounds so familiar.  My experiences have been very similar. Hashtag is right when it sounds like it comes from the dark ages, but I can assure anyone interested that this is our modern NHS under the Tories. It's in a disgraceful mess, and it's the patients who are paying the price. You have to experience it to believe it.

I laugh every time I hear about our 'Wonderful NHS' because in reality it's anything but, it's underfunded and on its knees. Much of the facilities are outsourced and privatised. These are in it for the money, ie. profit. Profit has no place in the NHS yet more and more privatisation is taking place every day. They put their prices up every year without justification because they see  the NHS as a cash cow. So what little money the NHS has has to stretch further or help even fewer people. 

It's scandalous, shocking and unforgivable.

thanks for this will circulate

On 28/04/2018 at 19:37, Rosemary said:

Please note Voiceability no longer provide the NHS Complaints Advocacy in Sheffield. This is now provided by the Sheffield Advocacy Hub, which is a partnership between Sheffield Advice (who run the hub), Disability Sheffield, and Cloverleaf Advocacy. The service they provide is as described the Voiceability Post above, but the contact details have changed.

 

https://sheffieldadvocacyhub.org.uk/

 

info@sheffieldadvocacyhub.org.uk

 

0800 035 0396

Very hard to get accepted by the HUB, waiting lists, etc.