I’ve made a complaint to the NHS – what happens now?

Once you have submitted a complaint to the NHS, you will receive an acknowledgement of your complaint and they should investigate your complaint and respond to you within 20 days. If the NHS cannot meet that 20 day deadline, they should update you and let you know when you can expect to hear from them. More complex cases or complaints made some time after treatment can take longer to investigate.

The NHS may also invite you to a meeting to discuss your complaint . We would recommend that you attend and ask the questions that you have. You may wish to have someone with you to take notes. You may also request that the meeting is minuted and that a minute of the discussions is sent to you. If you decide to record the meeting this should be agreed with the others present in advance.

If you are concerned that your complaint has not been satisfactorily dealt with or raises issues of wider patient concern, you may wish to take matters up with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO).

At any stage you may wish to seek advice on a claim.  You may wish to do this if you feel that you or your relative has suffered some loss or injury as a result of failings in care and treatment. Solicitors can advise you if you have a potential claim for medical negligence.

You can learn more about making a medical negligence claim or complete our short clinical negligence enquiry form and someone will be in touch.