NHS Complaints and clarity
Background
The Telegraph newspaper reported that the Department of Health criticised health watchdogs for a lack of transparency and for a failure to keep relatives informed when investigating mistakes made by health professionals. Sky News reported the case of a woman who found out, through the media rather than from the health watchdog, that her husband could have survived his heart attack if he had been treated appropriately.
The Department of Health promotes transparency and a Duty of Candour (a contractual requirement for health care providers to be open and transparent in admitting mistakes) now exists, in a bid to promote patient confidence in the NHS.
The Duty of Candour applies to NHS clinicians, meaning they have to admit and explain any mistakes found to have been made in the care given to patients, whether or not a complaint has been made about it.
Frequently however, a complaint from a patient or relatives is the starting point and we offer a free service to help you draft a complaint letter.
We can draft a letter of complaint
A lot of people who have concerns find it difficult to write a letter of complaint. Some find that they do not get answers to the questions they have about their care. Some people also find that the issues they have raised about their medical care are not even investigated. The complaints process can be lengthy and daunting.
This, in turn, may result in patients abandoning the complaints process and instructing a solicitor to start a legal claim against the Hospital, doctor or dentist, in the hope of finding out what really happened and get answers to their questions.
We can help you to write your letter of complaint. We offer this service free of charge, whether or not you wish to make a compensation claim as well. Please contact our clinical negligence team for a chat about how we can assist.
The expertise of our dual qualified Doctor / Solicitor
Please contact us for advice if you feel you have suffered any form of negligent treatment. Our specialist team are happy to help.
At Oliver & Co, we are unique in that the head of our Clinical Negligence department, Linda Schermer-Jones, is a qualified doctor as well as a qualified solicitor. We therefore, benefit from in-house medical knowledge and are able to assess your claim and locate any areas of negligent care quickly.
Contact us
If you would like advice on whether you have a potential clinical negligence claim or seek assistance with drafting a letter of complaint, please contact us on 01244 354688. Please note that there are legal time limits in place for starting a claim for compensation, and our specialist clinical negligence solicitors will be able to advise you specifically on the facts of your own case.
Call and speak to a member of our team on 01244 312306
