Complaints about the Health Service in Northern Ireland

If you are unhappy with the care or treatment you receive from the Health and Social Care service in Northern Ireland, you have the right to complain. Your complaint will be taken seriously and will be treated in confidence.  

Anyone who uses health and social care services can complain. These services include hospitals, community services, nursing or residential homes, ambulance services, social services, family doctors and health service pharmacists, opticians and dentists.  

You can also complain on someone else’s behalf, although you will generally need their consent.  

You can complain in the way that best suits you. This can be face to face, on the telephone, in a letter or by email. You should try to provide details of:

If you are unhappy with something, you can speak to any of the staff who are dealing with your treatment or care and they will try to resolve your concerns straight away.  

You should try to complain as soon as possible, usually within six months of you becoming aware that you have a cause for complaint and normally no longer than 12 months after the event.  

You can speak to any member of staff who is involved in your treatment or care about your complaint.  

Alternatively, all health service organisations will have someone who is responsible for dealing with complaints and you can ask to speak to them.  

If your complaint relates to services provided by a GP, or a health service dentist, pharmacist or optician, you can also contact the Health and Social Care Board.  

Your complaint will be acknowledged within 2-3 working days of receipt. You should receive a full response within 10 days if your complaint is about a GP, dentist, pharmacist or optician. If your complaint is about a hospital or community service, you should receive a full response within 20 working day's.  

Some complaints take longer to resolve than others. You should be told if this is the case and be given an explanation.  

Health and social care service complaints managers can provide you with more information on how to make a complaint.

You can also contact the Patient and Client Council who can provide free and confidential advice, information and help to make a complaint.  

Specialist advocacy services may also be available. Complaints managers or the Patient and Client Council can tell you about these.

If you are not happy with the response to your complaint, you can contact the service again and they will try to address your concerns.  

If you remain unhappy, you can refer your complaint to the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints (the Ombudsman). The Ombudsman will look at your complaint and decide whether he should investigate it.  

If your complaint relates to a placement  in an establishment such as a nursing or residential home, you can complain to the provider of care or, if you prefer, you can raise your concerns with the HSC Trust who has placed you there. If you are not happy with the response you receive, you can refer your complaint to the Ombudsman.  

The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority will monitor how complaints about regulated services are handled.  

The following document provides more detailed guidance on the HSC complaints procedure:

The following directions were issued to the Health & Social Care Service on 1 April 2009

The following amendment directions were issued to the Health and Social Care Board on 01 October 2009