How to Complain About Medical Treatment

Remember that making a medical complaint differs from making a medical negligence claim (more on this later). However, even if you do have a medical negligence claim, you can still complain to your healthcare provider.

If you are a reasonable letter writer, it is always best to draft a complaint in your own words. We can then review it before you send it off and suggest any additional questions you may not have thought of.

How do I Complain about Medical Negligence?

How you file a medical malpractice complaint can vary slightly depending on what type of service you receive. In this guide, we explain how to complain about medical treatment when dealing with the following types of providers:

• GP

• NHS Hospital

• Private Care

• Nursing Home

• Dental Surgery

• Optical Practice

What Should I Include When Making a Formal Medical Complaint?

If you want to complain about medical treatment, you need to ensure you include key pieces of information in your complaint, including:

• What/who you are making a complaint about

• The occurrence and when it took place

• Your demands to resolve the complaint

• Any relevant contact details

How Much Time Do I Have to Make a Medical Complaint?

The good news is that you typically have up to a year to complain from when the incident occurred or when it came to your attention. Under special circumstances, the time limit can be extended.

However, wherever possible, it is advised that you make your complaint within six months of mistreatment or realisation of mistreatment. This helps to ensure everybody involved can clearly remember what happened.

You should also be aware that there is a three-year time limit for starting a medical negligence claim – either from the date of the occurrence or from the date you realised treatment was negligent.

In special cases, the Court may grant an exception and allow a case to proceed out of time. Regardless, we would always advise starting your claim as early as possible.

If you are concerned about time limits, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, and we’ll advise you on the best course of action.

What Is the Difference Between a Medical Complaint and a Medical Claim?

When complaining about medical treatment, you should first be aware of the difference between a complaint and a claim.

• Bringing a complaint: You don’t have to have suffered an injury during medical care to complain about medical treatment.

• Making a medical negligence claim: You need evidence that you have been injured due to negligence to bring a medical negligence claim.

So, if you’re unhappy with your medical experience but you haven’t suffered harm as a result, you may consider making a complaint rather than a claim.

Do I Have Rights When Making a Complaint?

When complaining about medical treatment with the NHS, you have certain rights. After all, NHS workers must be transparent about any investigation involving you.

• Your medical complaint must be investigated and dealt with properly, and you must be told the result of it.

• You can take your complaint further to the Ombudsman if you are unsatisfied with the result.

• You can request a Judicial Review if an unlawful approach has directly impacted you.

• You can pursue a case for compensation if you have received an injury via negligent treatment.

Is It Worth Complaining about the NHS?

It is undoubtedly worth complaining about the NHS if you are unsatisfied with one of its services. We recommend letting the practice know about your issues sooner rather than later to resolve your complaint quicker.

Many issues discussed with the NHS are sorted out at an early stage, although you could get a third party involved if you feel uncomfortable discussing matters with someone involved in your medical treatment.

How to Complain about Medical Negligence: Taking Things Further

How you can take a medical complaint further will really depend on what complaint you are trying to make. Here is an overview of some of the organisations that may be able to help you with the procedure of bringing a complaint:

• The Care Quality Commission

The CQC is the health and social care regulator for England. You can take your complaint further with them if you are not happy with the response to your complaint that was made directly to the medical care provider.

• Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman

If you aren’t satisfied with how an NHS service has handled a complaint, you can write to the free-of-charge Ombudsman within twelve months of realising you have a complaint. You may be able to request assistance after this period in certain circumstances.

Note that the Ombudsman can only investigate specific complaints, and you must have obtained your GP’s final response before the Ombudsman can investigate your problem.

Download the complaints form.

• The General Medical Council (GMC)

The GMC can investigate any complaints about a doctor, although it cannot award compensation. Instead, they can take action ranging from a warning letter to restricting or removing the doctor’s right to practice medicine in the most serious cases.

In the first instance, you should raise a concern using their online form.

• NHS England Complaints

Complain directly to this NHS complaints line to address issues with specific NHS services, including GP practices and hospitals. The team will review your concerns and work towards resolving them by NHS standards.

Complain about Medical Treatment with Medical Solicitors

Our experienced team of specialist solicitors here at Medical Solicitors can help guide you if you are unhappy with the medical treatment you received. Whether you’re looking to make a medical negligence claim or a negligence complaint, we are here to talk you through our process and provide free, no-obligation legal advice.

Please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team and schedule a chat today.