It's important to tell us early if you are unhappy with your care or treatment, so that we can put it right. Our aim is to do whatever we can to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction.
All NHS Trusts have a Complaints Manager who has overall responsibility for handling and considering complaints. The Complaints Manager for the Trust is Julie Bushnell. You can email your complaint to complaints@esth.nhs.uk or call the complaints office on 020 8296 2925.
Read more about how to make a complaint
We will always aim to resolve matters. The Trust will investigate the issues you have raised and review the outcome of that investigation.
If we feel that urgent action is needed based on what you have said in your letter, then this will be taken without delay.
We will always aim to resolve matters quickly and our approach is to:
Your care and the way our staff communicate with you should never be affected because you have made a complaint. Please let us know if you feel this has happened so that we can conduct a separate investigation.
The Trust will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days after the date it is received. This acknowledgement will usually be in writing, but we may also give you a call as each complaint is individual and each case is assessed as we receive it. We are always keen to resolve matters as soon as we can in a way that resolves your complaint.
There are no national timescales for responding to complaints and some complaints will take longer to investigate than others. The most important fact is that we must undertake a robust investigation. Whilst there is no longer a national timeframe to respond to complaints, the Trust's executive team has set a target of 90% of complaints to have a response within 25 days as a minimum requirement, unless agreement is reached with the patient to a different timeframe.
It is important that we share the outcome of our investigation in the way that you would wish, and there are a number of other ways in which you may prefer your concerns to be addressed. For example, you may wish to discuss the option of talking to relevant nursing and clinical staff with the aim of addressing your complaint at a meeting.
During our investigation, we will keep you informed on our progress. On completion of our investigation - if we have agreed to send you a written response - we will explain how we have dealt with your complaint, the conclusions reached and any actions taken.
If there are any delays in our investigation we will contact you to explain why and agree with you when you can expect to receive a response. If you would like to discuss any aspect of your complaint do not hesitate to contact us on 020 8296 2924.
We send your letter to all of the departments and wards relevant to your complaint and share your letter with anyone who is mentioned in it and appropriate staff. We ask for their views on the issues and an explanation of what happened.
We ask for written reports and those issues are discussed with the staff involved. We also ask the ward or department involved to state what action will be taken to avoid the problem happening again.
In some cases, we will call you to ask for more information. If the problem is complicated we will also sometimes call you to ask if you would like to meet with us at this stage. Meetings like this can be very helpful in resolving problems, and we always encourage people to bring friends or relatives with them if that would be helpful.
When all of the written information has been received, it is collated and a letter of response is drafted. The letter is agreed, and signed by the Chief Executive if he is happy with the content of the response.
If you are not happy with the letter of response then you can contact us again, either by telephone or in writing, and let us know why. Sometimes people are unhappy because they feel that some concerns were not addressed properly in the letter of response. Again, meetings can be helpful in this case to resolve matters.
If you are not satisfied with the letter of response and any other action we have taken there are a number of other things you can do:
A meeting can be arranged with the relevant staff of the Trust. This gives us time to listen to what you have to say, and allows us to explain issues more fully. People who have complaints usually find these meetings very helpful. The meeting doesn't have to take place in one of our hospitals. If you would prefer it to be held somewhere else, we will try to arrange that.
If you want an independent opinion, we could ask a professional (for example a senior doctor or nurse) who has no connection with our hospitals to review your care and treatment in the light of your complaint. The outcome of this would be a report or reports that would be shared with you. If recommendations are made, we will consider them and tell you what will be done.
With your agreement, we could organise for an independent conciliator or mediator to try to resolve matters.
You are always welcome to contact the Trust's complaints and legal services office, based at St Helier Hospital. The telephone number is 020 8296 2925.
If you require advice independent of the Trust, you can contact your local Independent Complaints Advocacy Service:
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If you live in the Epsom, Leatherhead, Banstead or Cobham area you can contact:
Surrey ICAS,
Clarendon House, (1st Floor),
9-11 Church Street,
Basingstoke, Hampshire. RG21 7QG.
Tel: 01256 463758
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If you live in South London or in the London boroughs of Merton or Sutton you can contact:
POhWER Independent Complaints Advocacy Service,
CAN Mezzanine,
32-36 Loman Street,
Southwark,
London SE1 0EH
Tel: 0845 3373 061
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the Local Resolution process you are entitled to go to the second stage of the NHS complaints procedure: you can contact the Health Service Ombudsman to independently review your case. This should normally be done within 12 months of the day on which you first became aware of the matters you complain about.
Emphasis is placed in the NHS Complaints Procedure on resolving complaints at a local level. We will, therefore, always suggest that all possible local action is taken before you approach the Health Service Ombudsman. If you raise new issues when contacting the Ombudsman they will refer these back to us for investigation.
The Ombudsman is completely independent of the NHS and Government. You can contact the Ombudsman at:
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
or visit the Ombudsman's website
The complaints procedure, as described above, does not lead to compensation. In fact, the Regulations state that a complaint cannot be considered under this procedure if the person making that complaint states in writing that he or she intends to take legal proceedings.
Accidents and errors do happen in health care. Clinical claims are handled through our insurers, the National Health Service Litigation Authority, and not the Trust.
We are happy to meet with patients or relatives and advise them about what to do next if they make it clear that they are seeking compensation.
If you are considering making a claim you might want an independent opinion. If this is the case then you should seek professional legal advice rather than pursue the complaints process any further. Action Against Medical Accidents (AVMA) specialises in advising patients and can provide free and confidential guidance and support. AVMA is a registered charity that has medically qualified advisors who undergo legal training.
Action Against Medical Accidents (AVMA)
44 High Street
Croydon, Surrey CR0 1YB
Tel: 020 8688 9555 and 0845 1232352
or visit the AVMA website
The Trust has a duty to record patient ethnicity for each complaint. This is to comply with the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. We record this information to help us monitor trends. For example, it is useful for us to know whether there are certain services in which similar problems keep re-occurring, and whether this is affecting any particular sections of the community.
If we do ask you to provide details of your ethnicity, we will do so when our letter of response is sent. Of course, you are under no obligation to provide this information. However, it would be very useful, and will be treated in the strictest confidence.
If your complaint is on behalf of someone else, we need to receive that person's written consent in order to respond to you. If the patient is unable to provide their consent we will need the consent of their next of kin. This is a legal requirement that we have to follow.
