Independent Health Complaints Advocacy

From August 2020 to July 2023 Central England Law Centre delivered the Independent Health Complaints Advocacy service for Coventry.

The service offered free, independent, confidential advice and support to help people make a complaint if they are not happy with the service they, or someone else, has received from the NHS.

Patients have the right to complain if they are not happy about their treatment or if things go wrong, in line with the NHS Constitution.

The IHCA service:

Central England Law Centre supported complainants by:

Providing information about how to make a complaint including who to complain to
Explaining the complaints process and the options at each stage
Providing a range of ‘self-help’ tools to enable enquirers to progress their claim independently
Helping with writing letters
Supporting complainants to prepare for complaint meetings, including provision of an advocate if necessary
Helping to refer complainants to the Health Service Ombudsman if they are unhappy with the response received from the NHS service
Signposting to other sources of appropriate help and support
Establishing a comments/complaints process that allows people to raise concerns or make complaints about the IHCA service
Establishing a mechanism for gathering feedback from clients using the IHCA service and making sure clients are made aware of this
Ensuring that all calls/emails were responded to within 48 hours

The Law Centre publicised the IHCA service to ensure the people of Coventry were aware of their rights by providing:

Information to the public in a range of formats that advertise the service and what can be expected when using IHCA
A link/information to the dedicated IHCA web page on the front page of the providers website
A dedicated phone number and email address that enquirers and on-going clients can use to contact the service

Resources

View the guides and resources which the Law Centre designed to help people to understand their rights and prepare a complaint themselves.

Useful Tips on Writing an NHS Complaints Letter

Your Guide to the NHS Complaints Process

Template Letter for Making an NHS Complaint

A Guide to our IHCA Service

Please note from July 2023 the IHCA service will be delivered by Voiceability. You can contact Voiceability by:

· visiting their website at www.voiceability.org

· emailing them at [email protected]

· calling them on 0300 303 1660 (calls are free from landlines and mobiles in the UK)

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