Have you received a less than satisfactory service from one of Croydon’s health and social care services? We know it can be hard to know where to start when making a complaint, find out more in this help page.
At Healthwatch Croydon, we can advise you find out how to make your voice heard. If you need ongoing support with your complaint please visit Advocacy for Croydon, who are the NHS complaints advocacy service for Croydon.
Your right to complain
If you are not happy about the care you have received from health or social care services, you have a right to make a complaint.
All NHS trusts and local authorities have a complaints procedure which tells you what will happen when you make a complaint. See links for Croydon Council and local NHS trusts below.
Advocacy services are independent of the NHS and local authorities. They can support you to say what you are not happy about and what you would like to happen to put things right.
More a concern than a complaint?
If you have a concern about hospital and community services provided by Croydon Health Service NHS Trust, which includes Croydon University Hospital and Purley War Memorial Hospital, you can contact PALS on Call on 020 8401 3210. Please leave a message if the PALS staff are unavailable when you call, they will return your call within one working day
Email ch-tr.pals@nhs.net
Or write to: PALS, Croydon Health Services, 530 London Road, Croydon, CR7 7YE
https://www.croydonhealthservices.nhs.uk/patient-advice-and-liaison-
NHS Complaints Update from 1st July 2023
From 1 July 2023 the way you can make a complaint about your GP practice, dentists, opticians, or pharmacy is changing.
There are two ways you can complain currently:
- Directly to the healthcare provider
- To the healthcare commissioner
The healthcare provider is the organisation where you received the NHS service, for example a GP practice or dental surgery.
The commissioner of the service is the organisation that paid for the service or care you received for example NHS England or the Integrated Care Board (ICB).
After 1 July 2023 if you want to make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner you will now contact South West London Integrated Care Board (ICB) instead of NHS England.
You can do this by:
Telephone: 0800 026 6082
E-mail: contactus@swlondon.nhs.uk
Writing to us at: NHS South West London ICB, 120 the Broadway, Wimbledon London SW19 1RH
Complaints process
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has a useful guide to the complaints process https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/making-complaint