We are committed to providing the best possible care to our service users. While every effort is made to ensure we provide excellent care, sometimes things do go wrong, and we need you to tell us when they do.

By sharing feedback we can ensure that lessons are learned and that we can continually improve and develop our services.

If you do make a complaint we promise to deal with your concerns fairly, effectively and promptly, and we will not treat you any different as a result of making a complaint.

Who can make a complaint?

Under the NHS Complaints Procedure a complaint can be made by a current or former service user, or someone who is affected by, or likely to be affected by, the actions of the Trust.

A complaint can also be made by someone acting on behalf of the service user or person, with their consent. If consent is not received, the complaint will still be investigated and a written response given. However, the response will not contain an individual’s personal health information.

How to make a complaint

If you would like to make a complaint you can contact us whichever way suits you best:

By writing to us: Complaints Team, Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust, Fulwood House, Old Fulwood Road, Sheffield, S10 3TH

By emailing us: complaints@shsc.nhs.uk

By calling us: 0114 2718956

A complaint must be made in writing or verbally within twelve months of an event or within twelve months of realising the effect of the event. 

Complaints made more than twelve months after an incident do not have to be investigated, however, there is discretion to extend this time limit where it would be unreasonable in the circumstances for the complaint to have been made earlier, and where it is still possible to investigate the facts of the case.

What next?

On receipt of your complaint we will write to you to outline an investigation plan which will include the action to be taken by an investigating officer and the anticipated timescale for responding to your complaint.

Your complaint will be investigated by a senior manager and you will receive a written response from the Chief Executive. Where it has not been possible for us to respond within the planned timescale, we will contact you with an update on the investigation and the reason for the delay.

Our response will include an apology, where appropriate, an explanation of the events surrounding the cause for complaint and details of any actions the Trust intends to take in order to prevent this from happening again.

Any recommendations made as a result of the investigation will be incorporated into an action plan which will be monitored closely.

What if I am unhappy with the Chief Executive’s response?

If you are dissatisfied with the response you receive please contact us and tell us why so we can try to resolve any remaining areas of concern.

We may arrange for you to meet with senior staff in an attempt to resolve your complaint.

If you remain unhappy, you can refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman using the details listed below.

Fastrack

A Fastrack form is a really quick way to let us know about the little things that we can improve.

Each of our services will have Fastrack forms available on the reception and you can’t miss them, they’re bright yellow.

All you need to do is fill in the form, hand back into reception and they’ll send it through the Complaints Department.

You should receive an acknowledgement of your Fastrack within two working days of receipt and a response should be with you within two weeks.