Complaint and redress - what this right means for patients

1. You have the right to have any complaint you make about NHS services dealt with efficiently and to have it properly investigated

What this right means for patients:
If you are unhappy with your NHS services, you have the right to make a complaint and for that complaint to be investigated properly.

2. You have the right to know the outcome of any investigation into your complaint

What this right means for patients:
If you make a formal complaint (refer to the right above), you have the right to be told about the outcome of the complaint investigation.

3. You have the right to take your complaint to the independent Health Service Ombudsman, if you are not satisfied with the way your complaint has been dealt with by the NHS

What this right means for patients:
If you are not happy wit the outcome of your complaint, you can take your complaint to the Health Service Ombudsman, who carries out independent investigations into complaints about unfair or improper action or poor service by the NHS in England.
Please refer to www.ombudsman.org.uk

4. You have the right to make a claim for judicial review if you think you have been directly affected by an unlawful act or decision of an NHS body

What this right means for patients:
Judicial review is a process by which you can challenge a decision of the Secretary of State or an NHS body, on the basis that it is unlawful. Judicial review is not a form of appeal and is concerned primarily with how decisions are made, rather than the merits of the decision itself.
To be entitled to bring a claim for judicial review, a person must have a direct, personal interest in the action or decision under challenge. If this is something you want to do, you should seek legal advice. There are time limits for making a claim.

5. You have the right to compensation where you have been harmed by negligent treatment

What this right means for patients:
If you have been harmed through negligent treatment, you have a right to claim for damages. If this is something you want to do you should seek legal advice.