Making a complaint
Northern Care Alliance (NCA) NHS Foundation Trust is committed to provide the very best standard and quality of care to all patients in a friendly, pleasant, and professional environment.
We welcome your suggestions as to how we can improve our services. Through listening to your views, we can continue to learn, develop, and make changes where we can.
Our aim is to resolve your concerns and learn from your experience. Please be assured that your care will not be affected because you are voicing your concerns.
We are keen to resolve your concerns at a local level whenever possible. If you are unhappy with any aspect of your care or your relative/carer/friend’s care, please speak to staff on the ward or in the department, as they are best placed to help you resolve any issues immediately.
If you wish to make a complaint, under the 2009 NHS Complaints Regulations, it is important that you do so, as soon as possible after the event or when it first came to your attention, but no later than 12 months. Complaints received after 12 months will be considered on an individual basis depending on the circumstances but will not be governed by the 2009 NHS Complaints Regulations.
How will my complaint be handled?
Following receipt of an acknowledgment letter, one of our Complaints Officers will make contact either by telephone or in writing to seek clarification of your complaint, as we base our investigation on the information you provide.
During the investigation, information is gathered to understand what happened and why. If something has gone wrong, what can we do to put it right, if at all possible.
Some complaints will involve more than one organisation. If this is the case, we will talk with the other organisation(s) and aim to respond to your complaint jointly with your agreement.
Who will deal with my complaint?
One of our Complaints Officers will be responsible for ensuring your complaint is fully investigated.
An Investigating Officer from one of the relevant NCA Care Organisations (i.e Salford, Rochdale, Bury or Oldham) will also be assigned to your complaint; they are responsible for the investigation. Once completed, your complaint will be reviewed by the relevant Care Organisation’s Senior Management team on behalf of the Chief Executive.
What about confidentiality?
We will only speak about your complaint with those people directly involved. Any information about you will stay confidential. The NHS England and NCA Complaints Handling policies state that any complaints correspondence is strictly filed separately from any patient medical records.
When will I get a reply?
Once your complaint is received, a Complaints Officer will make contact by telephone or in writing confirming the timeframe. Sometimes when a complaint is complex or for complaints which require the involvement of other organisations, the timeframe may be longer and this will be discussed with you.
If there are difficulties with the investigation you will be kept informed. The Complaints Officer will make at least three calls to you to keep you updated from the start of the complaints process. If you become concerned at any point, or would like an update, please contact your Complaints Officer.
The response will offer a full, open and honest account of your complaint. Where appropriate, we will also tell you what we will do to try and make sure we can minimise the likelihood of it reoccurring.
What if I am not happy with the reply?
Please contact your Complaints Officer if, for any reason, you are not satisfied with our response.
We want to do everything we can to resolve your concerns. For example, if appropriate, we can make further enquiries, or arrange a meeting between yourself and relevant staff.
And if I am still not satisfied?
You can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to review your complaint.
The PHSO is completely independent of the Trust and once local resolution is complete, and you consider that there are outstanding concerns, the PHSO can initiate a further investigation, if they feel it is necessary. If you wish your case to be considered by the
Ombudsman, you can contact them via:
Telephone: 0345 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk
Post: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank London SW1P 4QP
Further help and information
Advocacy services are available to provide advice and support to people making a complaint. Please contact your Complaints Officer for details of your local advocacy service.
How to contact the Complaint Department
Telephone: 0161 656 1141
Email: office.complaints@nca.nhs.uk
Post: Unit 7 & 8, Whitney Court, Hamilton Street, Southlink Business Park, Oldham, OL4 1DB
Review Date: October 2023
Date of Next Date: October 2025
Ref No: PI_C_565 (NCA)