If you remain unhappy and we have not been able to achieve resolution via PALS, you can make a formal complaint.
- Use our online form
- Call us
- Write to us at PALS team, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Maidstone Hospital, Hermitage Lane, Kent, ME16 9QQ.
Ideally, all complaints should be made as soon as possible after the events you want to complain about took place. This makes it easier for everyone to remember what happened.
Complaints should be made within 12 months of the date of the event.
What information to include
You should provide as much information as possible. If you're raising more than one concern, make the points you would like answered clear. This will help us cover all your concerns.
If you are the patient, please give us:
- Your full name and date of birth
- Your telephone number
- NHS and/or hospital number
- The date you came to hospital (or were admitted)
- The hospital you attended, and the name of the ward/department
- If possible, the names of any staff involved
If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, please also tell us:
- Your name
- Your telephone number
- Your relationship to the patient
If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we will need their consent to disclose personal information. We must have this before we can help with your complaint.
If you want to make a complaint but are finding this difficult, please contact the team and we'll tell you about the support available, or give advice to make sure your concerns are heard.
What you can expect when you make a complaint
If you have given a contact telephone number, we will contact you by phone within three working days of receiving your complaint. We will introduce ourselves and check we have understood all your concerns.
We will discuss the next steps with you including consent and the method of resolution – this can be a telephone conversation, written response or local listening meeting.
If we do not have your phone number, we will write to you, by email or by letter, to acknowledge your concerns and arrange a time to talk with you.
This is to ensure we fully understand everything you wish to be investigated, and keep you updated throughout the complaints process.
When we begin our investigation, we'll let you know how long it is likely to take. We'll also keep you informed of progress. If the investigation is going to take longer than first thought, we will let you know.
Once the investigation is complete, you'll receive a written response explaining the outcome of our investigation. If we have identified areas where our services fell below the expected standard, we'll tell you what actions we intend to take to improve things.
What we cannot do
Making a complaint will not always resolve everybody’s issues. There are some things a complaint investigation cannot do, including:
- Disclosing any form of disciplinary action that may be taken
- 'Strike off' a health professional or suspend their registration
- Investigate a complaint that has already been investigated and concluded
- Investigate a complaint if the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has conducted and concluded their independent review]
- Provide compensation from a legal perspective
- Investigate a complaint if consent has not been given by the patient
- If your MP (Member of Parliament) has written during the pre-election period (when Parliament has dissolved for elections) we cannot respond directly to the MP but we will contact you to see if you would like us to respond directly to you instead
- If a patient has died and you are not the personal representative or the legal executor of the patient’s estate. A response letter can be sent but questions relating to the patient personally will not be answered.
