Where it is possible and appropriate, complaints and concerns can be resolved on the spot or quickly by front line staff or the service provider. This is called local resolution.  Local resolution aims to resolve complaints quickly and as close to the source of the complaint as possible.

Where attempts to resolve the issue fail to achieve a satisfactory outcome, the complainant has the right to raise a formal complaint with either the service provider or the CCG as the commissioner of the service.

A complaint may be made in writing, verbally, face to face or by email.

If an individual is unsure regarding the process or who to contact advice can be sought by contacting the NHS North Yorkshire CCG Patient Relations Team.

Complaints regarding commissioning decisions, funding decisions including IFR, continuing healthcare, maternity, and children's services

NHS North Yorkshire CCG
Tel: 01609 767607
Email: nyccg.PatientRelations@nhs.net
Patient Relations Team
NHS North Yorkshire CCG
1 Grimbald Crag Court, St James Business Park, Knaresborough, HG5 8QB

Complaints relating to GP Practices

In the first instance it is best to raise your complaint directly with the Practice Manager at your GP Practice. Contact details for practices in North Yorkshire can be found here,

If you prefer you can direct your complaint to NHS England using the details, below.

Complaints relating to GP, dentist, pharmacy or optician services

NHS England
Tel: 0300 311 22 33
Email: england.contactus@nhs.net
NHS England
PO Box 16738
Redditch
B97 9PT

Complaints relating to hospitals

Scarborough, Malton, York, or Bridlington Hospitals

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Patient Experience Office
Tel: 01904 726262
Email: pals.york@nhs.uk
Patient Experience Office
York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The York Hospital
York
YO31 8HE

Friarage or Friary Hospitals, or James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough

South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Patient Advice and Liaison
Tel: freephone 0800 0282451 or on 01642 854807
Email: stees.pals@nhs.net
Patient Advice and Liaison Service
The James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough
TS4 3BW

Harrogate Hospital

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust 
Patient Experience Team
Tel: 01423 555499
Email: hdft.patientexperience@nhs.net

Hull Royal Infirmary or Castle Hill Hospital

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 
Patient Advice and Liaison
Tel: 01482 623065
Email: pals@hey.nhs.uk
Patient Advice Liaison Service
Alderson House
Hull Royal Infirmary
Anlaby Road
Hull
HU3 2JZ

Complaints relating to mental health services

Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust
Patient Advice and Liaison Service
Freephone: 0800 052 0219
Tel: 01642 283546
Mobile: 077755 18086
Email: tewv.pals@nhs.net
Patient advice and liaison services
Flatts Lane Centre
Normanby
Middlesbrough
TS6 0SZ

Complaints relating to ambulance transport or patient transport

Yorkshire Ambulance Service 
Patient Relations Team
Email: patient.relations@yas.nhs.uk
Telephone: 0345 122 0535
Patient Relations Team
Yorkshire Ambulance NHS Trust
Springhill 2
Brindley Way
Wakefield 41 Business Park
Wakefield
WF2 0XQ

Complaints relating to North Yorkshire Wheelchair Service – NRS Health Care

Tel: 01904 654052
Email: service@york.nrs-uk.net
NRS can be contacted between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Emergency Help and assistance is also available out of hours (evenings, weekends and bank holidays).
North Yorkshire & York Wheelchair Services
Unit 13 Stirling Business Park
Bleriot Way
Clifton Moor
York
YO30 4WU

Anyone can complain about NHS services or treatment they have received, or if they have been affected by the actions or decisions of an NHS organisation, or primary care practitioner. If you are unable to complain yourself, someone can act on your behalf with your written consent.

A copy of the consent form is available to download, here.

If a complaint is received on behalf of someone else, including by an MP, consent will be required. Consent is also required if the CCG is required to share the complaint with a third party, such as the provider of a service.

There is an expectation that when capturing consent for the use and sharing of information, that the patient has made an informed decision and clearly understands the processing and potential sharing of their information. Staff must also understand the expectations of confidentiality under which the information is provided.

Information will not be disclosed to third parties unless the complainant or appropriate authorised party who has provided the information has given consent to the disclosure of that information.

If by the 40th working day consent has not been received the complaint should be closed and categorised as a concern.

Where appropriate the CCG may require access to medical records or other personal information in order to deal with the matter.

Information may be used for other purposes such as monitoring processes and improving service quality. Wherever possible, only anonymous information will be used. If identifiable data is needed for other purposes, then consent will be requested from the person who the information is about.

In some circumstances the CCG may disclose personal information to relevant parties where there is a legal duty or power to do so, for example if information leads us to believe that a child or vulnerable adult is at risk of harm or if a court order requires us to do so. In such circumstances consent may not be sought prior to disclosing the information.

Where you are contacting the service on behalf of another person, consent will be required from the individual concerned, to progress an inquiry.

Should you have any concerns about how your information is to be used, please discuss this with someone in the Patient Relations Team on the contact details above.

A complaint should be made within 12 months from the date it occurred or when it came to your attention. In some cases if there is good reason why you could not complain sooner and it is still possible to investigate your complaint, it may be possible to waive the time limit.

There is no time limit for giving feedback to the CCG for those issues which fall outside the Complaints Regulations. All feedback will be received and acted upon wherever possible to ensure learning and improvement.

If your complaint involves more than one NHS organisation or the NHS and social care, you only need to make one complaint and you will receive a single, coordinated response.

If any part of the joint complaint relates to a primary care service, (that is a GP Practice, dentist, community pharmacy or optician), the complaint will need to be raised with NHS England – their details are provided above.

Some complainants prefer to send their complaint to the commissioner of NHS services, NHS North Yorkshire CCG. This is fine, however, the commissioner will consider which organisation is best placed to address your concerns. The health care provider (for example the hospital or district nursing team) will normally be given the opportunity to respond to your complaint.

To direct a complaint to NHS North Yorkshire CCG please see contact details above.

The Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service team can guide and support you though the complaints process. They can help you put your complaint in writing and attend meetings with you. However, the team does not investigate complaints.

Support to residents of North Yorkshire is available from the Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service which is free to complainants. The service is provided by:

Cloverleaf Advocacy (Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service)

Address: Cloverleaf Advocacy, 5th Floor, Empire House, Old Wakefield Road, Dewsbury, WF12 8DJ

Email: referrals@cloverleaf-advocacy.co.uk

Phone: 0300 124212

North Yorkshire Healthwatch and the Citizens Advice Bureau can also assist.

When you submit a complaint, it is helpful if you could be clear what you would like to achieve as a result of making your complaint, so that the NHS can try to resolve the matter to your satisfaction.

Your complaint will be fully investigated in a manner that is fair to both complainants and staff. If failings are identified during the investigation, any necessary changes will be made to improve the quality of services.  You will also be advised in the written response to your complaint of any service improvements.

We aim to ensure that all complaints are handled well and that appropriate action is taken to resolve a concern. We will do everything that we feel is appropriate in order to try and resolve matters to your satisfaction.

If, however, you remain unhappy after your complaint has been addressed, you can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to review your complaint. You should do this within 12 months from the date on which the subject matter of the complaint occurred.

The PHSO can be contacted on their website here or:

Helpline: 0345 015 4033

Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk

Address: Ombudsman at Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP