If you have a concern about the care we are providing, we hope you will feel able to speak to the team in charge of your care. If you are struggling to get your concern addressed, or don't feel able to speak to your care team, then the Patient Experience team are here to help you.
What is the Patient Experience team?
The Patient Experience team is the central point of contact for people to provide feedback and raise concerns about the services provided by Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Our aim is to provide a 'quick resolution' for you when you raise issues with us. If a ‘closer look’ is required we will ensure that a thorough investigation takes place, with complainants receiving comprehensive written responses including any actions taken. Learning from the feedback we receive is essential and this is shared with all Trust staff.
Your questions answered
Below you can watch a video about how to make a complaint about NHS care. You can also find out more information about how to contact our Patient Experience team.
If you have any feedback about the service you have received - good or bad - we'd love to know. To find out how you can provide your feedback about Trust services, please visit the Your Feedback section.
Yes, absolutely - when our services are doing things well, we definitely want to hear about it. This will help us to build on success and keep on improving.
There are several ways to submit your compliments on the 'your feedback' page.
Individual staff
If you would particularly like to praise an individual member of staff, you may wish to submit a nomination for our colleague recognition scheme. This scheme is called the DEED scheme - Delivering Excellence Every Day. Learn more on the 'celebrate our staff' page.
A complaint can be made by anyone who is affected by the actions or decisions of the Trust. If you are complaining on someone else's behalf, we will need to check with them that they are happy for us to respond to you.
If you are unhappy about something, then it is always best to make your complaint as soon as possible and not more than 12 months after the incident or issue occurred. This time limit may sometimes be extended if there is a genuine reason why you could not make the complaint sooner.
Confidentiality is respected at all times when a complaint has been made. However there may be times when the Patient Experience team need to share your feedback with clinicians to help improve our services. If this is the case we will inform you first.
Personal contact will be encouraged when you raise a concern. You will receive a response in a manner that is appropriate for you and in a time frame that we have agreed with you. Consent to release clinical information will be required if your concern is in relation to another person.
You, or the patient concerned, will not be discriminated against if you raise a concern and information is not kept within clinical files.
To make a complaint, it’s best if you talk to staff dealing with your care in the first instance. They might be able to resolve any problems for you.
However if they can’t, or if you’d prefer to talk to the Patient Experience team, please speak to them by using the below contact details.
The most important way we monitor and improve the quality of our services is from the feedback we receive from the people who use them, and their family and carers. You can give us feedback in the following ways:
Online: Register your feedback online
Telephone: 01332 623751 or 0800 027 2128
Email: dhcft.patientexperience@nhs.net
Write to: Patient Experience team, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Kingsway House (Room 160), Kingsway Hospital, Derby, DE22 3LZ
Face-to-face: We can arrange a meeting with you to discuss your feedback and agree an appropriate way forward.
Concerns and complaints will be dealt with in a manner that is proportionate and appropriate to the issues being raised. Staff will discuss with you how and when you want to receive feedback about your concern. Actions taken will improve services and ensure learning takes place. The information will be recorded centrally and routinely reported.
If you raise a concern with staff, you can expect that they will take steps to resolve the matter themselves. If this is not possible, the Patient Experience team will make every effort to ensure that you receive a 'quick resolution' response where possible. If a ‘closer look’ is required, we will ensure that investigations are reasonable, appropriate and proportionate to the issue being raised.
We will contact you within three days of receiving your complaint to acknowledge it and make arrangements to deal with it. It is helpful if you could provide a daytime phone number for us to contact you. We will discuss with you how long it will take to respond to your specific concerns.
If you are not satisfied with the response, you can make a formal complaint. Your complaint will be treated with sensitivity and understanding. Our Patient Experience Team will make every effort to ensure that you receive a 'quick resolution’ response where possible. If a ‘closer look’ is required, we will make sure that investigations are reasonable, appropriate and proportionate to the issue being raised and you will receive a response from the Chief Executive.
To make a formal complaint please contact the Patient Experience team on 01332 623751 or 0800 027 2128.
Once we have concluded our involvement in your complaint, you can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to investigate. You should do this within six months of our final response to you. You can write to them at: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP
Telephone: 0345 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
- Chesterfield Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
- Telephone: 01246 209164
- Swadlincote Community Voluntary Services (CVS)
- Telephone: 01283 819101
- Healthwatch Derby
- Telephone: 01332 643988
- Healthwatch Derbyshire
- Telephone: 01773 880786
Advocacy Services
- ONE Advocacy Derby
- Telephone: 01332 228748
- Derbyshire MIND
- Telephone: 01332 623732
- Generic Mental Health Advocacy Service (currently Amber Valley and Erewash areas)
- Telephone: 01332 623732
If you prefer, you have the right to take your complaint about our service to NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (ICB). Learn more on the Derby and Derbyshire ICB's website.
Feedback data
We publish a live feed of the numbers of complaints, concerns and compliments we receive. We also publish the most recent results of the Friends and Family Test, which asks people: "Thinking about the service we provide, overall, how was your experience of our service?"
View the results on our patient feedback page.
Please note: you will need to click the 'back' button on your device to return to our website from this page.
Your rights under the NHS Constitution
The NHS Constitution says:
- “You have the right to have any complaint you make about NHS services dealt with efficiently and to have it properly investigated.”
- “You have the right to know the outcome of any investigation into your complaint.”
- “You have the right to take your complaint to the independent Health Service Ombudsman, if you are not satisfied with the way your complaint has been dealt with by the NHS.”
Your choice of mental health provider
Choice plays an important role in making sure that people can access the provider of care that best suits their individual needs and preferences. The right to choose is enshrined in the NHS Constitution, so it’s a legal right everyone has. For more information about the choice of mental health provider that you have, please visit our your choice of mental health provider webpage.
Contact
Patient Experience team
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Kingsway House (Room 160)
Kingsway Hospital
Derby
DE22 3LZ
Telephone: 01332 623751 or 0800 027 2128
