This week I’ve been looking at how you make a complaint to your health care provider.
Surprisingly many people don’t know they can actually make a complaint about the treatment they receive. Like many things with chronic illness this is yet another thing you don’t get told about. So let’s break it down!
There is such a thing as Patient Liaison Teams and they work across the country in GP practices, hospitals and even dentists! They know all the local support groups, work closely with medical professionals and even can help you with understanding your treatment. But most importantly they are who you can go to to make a formal complaint.
But why would you want to?
Firstly you deserve the best treatment going, If your doctor isn’t providing that, you have every right to make a complaint. But there is also a bigger reason.
Many of our community are not in a position to be able to take action against their doctors. It might be because of how they identify genderwise or because of racism or any number of other discrimination’s. Our medical system is full of biases and it’s often not safe for these people to stand up and fight for better medical care. This is a great way to use white privilege for good. The best case scenario with making a complaint is not only that your treatment improves but so does the next persons.
Just to make things confusing England, Scotland and Wales all have different names for patient liaison teams.
In England they are called PALS – Stands for Patient Liaison Service. – you can find your nearest team by calling 111 and they will give you the details.
Scotland they are called PASS – stands for Patient Advice and Support Service. For you it’s run by Citizen’s advice bureau. If you go to Citizen’s advice website you can then search using your postcode to find the nearest team.
In Wales they are called CHC – stands for Community Health Council. They have a direct line which is 02920 235558
Making a complaint can be intimidating but with the help of patient liaison services it should take some of that pressure off you. They are there to work with you and support your complaint.
Don’t forget I am also running a course that helps you organise your medical records. You can read about how the course will help you here.