NHS Complaints Advocacy (IHCA)

NHS Complaints Advocacy is an independent service to support you to make a complaint about NHS treatment or care, including complaints about their GP, dentist, local hospital, ambulance service or pharmacy. 

How an Advocate Can Support You

Advocates are trained professionals who work with you and are independent from the hospital or the NHS Trust. You can seek help from an advocate for yourself, a family member, or someone you care for. Advocates help ensure that your voice is heard by the NHS. While they cannot guarantee that you’ll get the exact outcome you want, they will always act in your best interests and stand by your side.

An advocate can:

• Empower you to handle as much of the process as possible yourself
• Support you to identify what you want to raise a complaint about and what outcome you hope to achieve
• Help you to draft and send your complaint letter to the correct department or person
• Support you to understand the response you receive and explore what steps to take next
• Support you in complaints or resolution meetings if you find it hard to express your views

An advocate cannot:

• Offer legal or medical advice
• Tell you what to do or make decisions for you
• Act as secretary or administrative worker 
• Support you with a complaint about something that happened more than 12 months ago, unless you have only just found out that something went wrong or you have a good reason for not complaining sooner and can provide evidence of this

 

Make a referral HERE

Download our NHS Complaints SELF HELP PACK HERE