Email: complaints@elht.nhs.uk

Phone: 01254 733700

We are fully committed to upholding equality and ensuring that everyone is treated with respect and dignity. Discrimination in any form will not be tolerated. To support this commitment, we strive to make our complaints process accessible and user-friendly for all, regardless of individual differences or circumstances. Please let us know if you need any assistance when accessing our complaints process.

If things go wrong you should expect to be involved with and informed of how your concerns are to be handled.

Step 1 - speak to your care team

If you, your relatives or carers are worried about any aspect of your treatment or care, ask to speak with the medical and nursing staff involved as soon as your concerns arise.  They want to help you and will try to resolve your concerns immediately. 

If you are not happy with their response, you could ask to speak to the Ward/Departmental Manager or Matron.

Step 2 - Speak to our Customer Relations Team 

If you feel your concerns have not been addressed adequately by local teams, you may wish to proceed with involving the Customer Relations Team.

The quickest way to raise your concerns and receive a quicker response is to email complaints@elht.nhs.uk. 

This method will also allow us to keep you automatically updated by email as your complaint progresses through the various stages. 

You can also Call our helpline (freephone): 0800 587 2586

Contact us on 01254 733 700 (automatic updates are not possible using this method).

Please note that these telephone lines are currently only open between 9am - 12noon.  Anyone ringing outside of these times can leave a voicemail message and a member of the team will return the call when the lines are open.

Or write to us at:

Customer Relations Team
Fusion House
Haslingden Road
Blackburn
BB1 2FD

Please note: If you are complaining about the care or treatment of someone else, please understand that we will need consent to proceed with the complaint.

We will contact you about this but please do not be offended if we ask for this information.

If your complaint is regarding children's mental health services, please click here. 

If you have a complaint, please know that:

 

  • You will be treated fairly and without discrimination
  • Your information will be handled confidentially and sensitively
  • Your complaint will be kept separate from your medical records

Your feedback is essential to help us improve our services. By sharing your concerns, you give us the opportunity to learn from any mistakes, make changes, and enhance care for all patients.

If you are unable to make a complaint, a relative, carer or friend can act on your behalf.  We will require your consent to disclose information to someone representing you.

It is important to make the complaint as soon as possible to enable us to deal with any concerns you have by carrying out a thorough investigation.  East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust guarantees to ensure that a patient's current or future treatment will not be adversely affected by a complaint being made.

The formal NHS complaint guidelines suggest that time limits to make a complaint are no longer than twelve months after an event or twelve months from the date of knowledge of the event, although no longer then two years in total.  These time limits can be waived in exceptional circumstances and even if a complaint if out of time limits, we will consider each case individually.

Martha's Rule

If you are concerned about a noticeable change or deterioration in a patient’s condition, please let us know. If you have already spoken to the ward team or community healthcare team about it and are still concerned, there is a service available that provides support for adult inpatients, their families and their friends.

 

Find out more on the Call for Concern webpage.

Our standards:

  • East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust aims to provide you with a thorough response to your complaint
  • Our aim is to give you a full explanation on completion of our investigation
  • Your complaint will be acknowledged within three working days of receipt by the Customer Relations Team
  • We will aim to give you a timescale for completion, following acknowledgement of your complaint. If your complaint is complex, we may require additional time to carry out the investigation; we may contact you to discuss this
  • If any further delays occur we will keep you informed of progress

There are some things which East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust cannot deal with under the NHS Complaints Procedure.  These include:

  • Complaints about private treatment
  • Complaints about Local Authority Social Services
  • Events requiring investigation by a professional disciplinary body
  • Events about which you are taking legal action
  • Complaints about Primary Care Services (e.g. your General Practitioner, Dentist etc.)
  • Other NHS organisations
  • Other NHS providers whose premises are on ELHT sites

However, there are occasions when your complaint may include more than one organisation.  In these cases we will always work in partnership to resolve your concerns.

If your complaint is detailed or complex, please write it down so we can be sure that we understand all of your concerns and send to the address provided at the bottom of this page.  Tell us what your expectations are and your desired outcome (we will ask you about this when we acknowledge your complaint).

What happens when we receive your complaint

Receipt of your complaint will be acknowledged in writing by a member of the Customer Relations Team.  The investigation will be undertaken by a senior member of staff.  Care will be taken to keep your complaint and information about you confidential.  You may be invited to meet with Trust staff to discuss your complaint and they will provide you with a detailed explanation.

You will receive a reply in writing from the Trust to any formal complaint about the organisation.  The staff involved will do their best to resolve any concerns you have and take any necessary action to improve the experience for others.

Step 3 - taking your complaint further 

Our Customer Relations Team will do their best to resolve your concerns but if you are still not satisfied with the resolution, you may request to have your complaint considered for an independent review. 

For this, you need to write to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), indicating why you remain dissatisfied.

The role of the PHSO is to provide a service to the public in which they undertake independent investigations into complaints where the NHS appears to have not acted properly or fairly or has provided a poor service.

In most cases the PHSO will not investigate a complaint unless it has already been made to the Trust and all options of local resolution have been explored.

You can find out more here: https://www.ombudsman.org.uk

Additional help or support

If you need any independent help or advice on making a complaint, the Advocacy Services can help you and be contacted as follows:

Voice Ability (for BwD residents)

Advocacy Focus (East Lancashire)