Health Complaints Procedures

There is a simple two-stage process for complaints about NHS services.

Your NHS complaint: what to do first

Every NHS organisation has a complaints procedure. If you want to complain about an NHS service, for example, a hospital, GP or dentist, ask the service for a copy of their complaints procedure, which will explain what you need to do.

You may make a complaint to either the organisation that provided your healthcare or the organisation that commissioned that service. The commissioning body will be either the local clinical commissioning group for hospital care, or NHS England for GP and dental services.

You may choose to make a complaint in writing, by email or by speaking to them. If you speak to them, they may be able to resolve your concerns without you having to go through the formal complaints process.
This first stage is called local resolution. It aims to resolve complaints quickly and most cases are resolved at this stage.

Time limit for NHS complaints
You should make your complaint as soon as possible. The time limit for a complaint is normally:
• twelve months from the date the event happened, or
• twelve months from the date you first became aware of it