Introduction

The NHS would like to hear your feedback (both positive and negative), as it helps the NHS to improve and respond to your needs effectively.

If you think that a right has not been upheld or the NHS is not meeting its commitments, the NHS would like to hear from you. In the first instance, you should speak to your clinician or local NHS (your primary care trust, or PCT) to see if your concern can be resolved immediately.

If you feel you need further help

• You, your family or someone you have asked on your behalf can feed back directly at the point of care, either to the clinician providing care or through the local Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS). PALS are available in most hospitals and PCTs, and act on behalf of their service users when handling patient and family concerns. They liaise with staff, managers and, where appropriate, other relevant organisations, to negotiate speedy solutions and to help bring about changes to the way that services are delivered. PALS also refer patients and families to locally- or nationally-based support agencies, where appropriate. By providing a concise statement of what patients can expect from the NHS, the NHS Constitution will make it easier to raise questions and challenges directly at the point of care.
• The local PCT offers another route to raise questions or concerns about the application of the NHS Constitution. PCTs are responsible for services in their local area and for ensuring co-ordination between them; they can therefore be approached on any matter relating to the NHS Constitution. To find your local PCT, please contact NHS Choices (www.nhs.uk).
• The NHS also has complaints arrangements in place, allowing patients to raise concerns about services. Depending on the nature of the complaint, it should generally be addressed directly to the provider of the service. From April 2009, you will have the choice of making a complaint to either the service provider or the local PCT. If you are unsure whether to make a complaint locally, you may wish to discuss the matter with your local PALS or your local PCT. If you remain unhappy with the local resolution of your complaint, you can ask the Health Service Ombudsman to look into your case: www.ombudsman.org.uk.
• The Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) supports patients and their carers wishing to pursue a complaint about their NHS treatment or care. This statutory service was launched on 1 September 2003 and provides for the first time a national service delivered to agreed quality standards. The contact numbers in the East of England are Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 0845 456 1082, Essex 0845 456 1083, Cambridge, Norfolk and Suffolk 0845 456 1084.
• Local Involvement Networks (LINks) aim to give citizens a stronger voice in how their health and social care services are delivered. Run by local individuals and groups and independently supported - the role of LINks is to find out what people want, monitor local services and to use their powers to hold them to account. Each local authority (that provides social services) is under a legal duty to make contractual arrangements that enable LINk activities to take place. Click here for more information.
• In the last resort, patients and staff can seek legal redress if they feel that NHS organisations have infringed the legal rights described in the NHS Constitution. For patients and the public, this could be in the form of a judicial review of the process by which an NHS organisation has reached a decision.
• View details on the rights and pledges relating to complaints and redress in the Constitution.

The Constitution is not intended to develop a ‘lawyer’s charter’. Where a mistake has been made, the NHS needs to accept something has gone wrong, to apologise for it, and to make sure it does not happen again. The Constitution seeks to encourage a more open environment that allows concerns to be resolved quickly and effectively.