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Complaints, Comments & Suggestions

The Trust puts patients and service users at the heart of everything we do in our aim to provide the highest standards of care.  We recognise that we don’t always get things right. We are keen to hear when things have not gone well so we can learn from your experience.

We also value positive feedback so that we can build on good practice.  Tell us your suggestions, comments, compliments or where things could have gone better via our Feedback Form.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

Often the quickest and easiest way to resolve concerns about your care or treatment is to speak to the staff responsible for your care.  However, if for any reason you do not feel comfortable doing so, or you are unhappy with the action taken with respect to any concerns you have raised, you can contact PALS.

Our PALS team are happy to provide confidential advice and support and are often able to liaise with Trust staff to negotiate quick solutions to problems or questions. They also have information about local and national organisations who can offer further advice and support. You can view the PALS webpage here.

You can contact the PALS team on FREEPHONE 0800 783 4839 or email elft.pals@nhs.net

If, despite our best efforts, we are not able to resolve your concerns informally with the staff caring for you or via PALS, you can make a formal complaint. 

Making a Formal Complaint

You can make a formal complaint if you are a service user, carer or relative, or if you have been affected or are likely to be affected by something the Trust has done or should have done.

If you are contacting us on behalf of a relative or friend, we may need to obtain their consent to carry out an investigation. This is due to patient confidentiality. You can download and complete this patient consent form and scan it or send it by post to us with your complaint.

You can contact the complaints service by telephone FREEPHONE 0800 085 8354, email elft.complaints@nhs.net or send a letter addressed to: 

The Complaints Manager
FREEPOST RTXT-HJLG-XEBE
Complaints Department
Governance and Risk Management
East London NHS Foundation Trust
1st Floor, health E1
9 - 11 Brick Lane
London E1 6PU

Telephone: 0800 085 8354

Email: elft.complaints@nhs.net 

Complaints Process

Complaints should be made within a year of the events concerned, or the date when you first became aware of the problem. If your complaint dates back further than this and there were good reasons why you were not able to complain before, please contact us and we will let you know if we can still help you.

We will contact you within three working days of receiving your complaint to acknowledge your complaint, discuss with you how it can best be resolved and also agree a realistic individualised timescale for a response to be sent to you. We will also give you a named person for you to contact with any additional queries that may arise during the investigation process.

Please be assured that making a complaint will not adversely affect the care that you receive and we do not keep any correspondence about your complaint in your health records. 

What if I am not satisfied with the initial response to my concerns? 
 

We will always try to find ways to resolve your concerns. However, if you are unhappy with how your complaint has been handled please let us know. We are happy to discuss outstanding issues and review your original complaint again to see if it requires further investigation.  
If we have tried all reasonable means of resolving your concerns and you are still dissatisfied, you can request an independent review by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).
You can view information on the PHSO website.

Help and support to make a complaint

If you would like independent support to make a complaint about any NHS Service, you can contact your local NHS Complaints Advocacy Service who can provide support and advice. Details of NHS Complaints Advocacy Services can be found here 

An information leaflet giving general information on how to complain about any NHS service is also available here