NHS complaints procedure
The formal way to complain when an NHS service gets things wrong or will not act. Every service has a complaints process you can use, and each UK nation runs its own system.
Applies across the UK
When a service will not act on your child's needs, a formal complaint is the escalation route, and it can move things where polite chasing has not. In England you complain either to the service itself or to the organisation that pays for it, but not both, and you normally have 12 months from the event. PALS, the Patient Advice and Liaison Service PALS A free, confidential service in NHS hospitals in England. If you are stuck chasing a referral, PALS helps you sort it out. Read the full definition of PALS , is the informal route and can often sort things faster.
If you are not happy with the final response, you can take an English complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Each nation has its own ombudsman and its own process: Wales runs the statutory Putting Things Right process with the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, Scotland has the SPSO, and Northern Ireland has NIPSO. Complaining does not affect your child's care, and services are not allowed to treat you worse for it.
Across the UK
- Putting Things Right : Wales has a statutory complaints process called Putting Things Right, with the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales as the escalation route.
Where this comes from
- Giving feedback or making a complaint about your health care , NHS England. Checked 2026-08-14.
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