Patients and the public

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 (NHS Leeds) to see if your concern can be resolved immediately.
You can contact the NHS Leeds complaints department on 0113 305 7665 or 0113 305 7664 or by email at complaints.office@nhsleeds.nhs.uk  

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 Leeds Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).
PALS are available in most 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 local or national support agencies, where appropriate.

If you remain unhappy with the resolution of your complaint, you can ask the Health Service Ombudsman to look into your case. For further information please visit their website at www.ombudsman.org.uk

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.

The NHS 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.

Related downloads

| NHS Constitution published 2010.pdf (0.11 MB)

| Handbook to the NHS Constitution published 2010.pdf (1.17 MB)