Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and Complaints

How do I make a complaint? 

Wherever possible, you should tell someone close to the cause of your complaint for example, a doctor, nurse, or receptionist. In many cases the problem can be sorted out straight away.

If you have issues that you would like to be resolved rather than make a formal complaint you can contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 0800 328 2941 or 0151 471 2377. PALS provide support, information and advice to service users and carers to assist in resolving issues and concerns that may arise during your contact with the Trust.

If you want the issue dealt with through the formal procedure, you should contact the Complaints Department at tjhe following address:

PALS and Complaints Team

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust,

Hollins Park Hospital, 

Hollins Park House,

Hollins Lane,

Winwick,

Warrington

WA2 8WA

Tel: 0151 471 2377.​​​​​​​

Email: Palsandcomplaints@merseycare.nhs.uk

We will do our best to address your issues as soon as possible. Sometimes the person you speak to at first will need to get in touch with other members of staff to establish what has happened and decide what action to take.

Information from your records may need to be disclosed as part of the review, however we will be careful to ensure any information about you is kept confidential. 

If you want to submit a complaint online pleae fill in the form at the bottom of this page and press the submit button to send your complaint directly to our team.

Who can complain?

The NHS Complaints Procedure is for service users, carers and relatives to raise concerns about care and treatment provided by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust. Carers or relatives may also raise complaints about how they have been treated by Trust staff. Any other person who has been affected by a decision, act or omission of the Trust may also make a complaint.

When can I complain?

It is important you make your complaint as soon as possible after the incident. You can make a complaint within 12 months of an incident or event occurring or within 12 months of the time when you became aware you had reason to make a complaint. The time limit may sometimes be extended if there is a genuine reason why you could not make the complaint sooner, and whether it is still possible for us to review your concerns.

What if my complaint is about more than one organisation?

If your complaint relates to the services of another NHS trust or social services department, as well as Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, the Complaints department will liaise with the other organisation(s) to consider providing a joint response. This meansit may be possible to provide you with one response letter which addresses your concerns regarding each NHS trust or social services department. 

What happens when I have made my complaint?

We will contact you within three working days of receiving your complaint to acknowledge it and make arrangements to address your concerns. It is helpful if you can provide a contact telephone number so we can speak with you to understand what you would like to happen as a result of making the complaint, and to discuss how this can be achieved.

This could be a formal review, or possibly a meeting with the staff involved in your complaint. Please also provide your email address if possible. If you do not have an email please provide your home address for written correspondence to be sent to you throughout the complaints review.

If your complaint is formally reviewed, we will agree a timescale by which we would hope to respond to you. Once under formal review, you will receive a written responsoe letter regarding you complaint and/or review report that will hopefully answer all the concerns you raised. You will be kept informed and involved throughout the process.

What happens if I am not happy after I have received my written response?

If you are not satisfied with the response to your complaint, please contact us to see if there is any further action we can take to resolve the issue. This might involve organising a meeting, undertaking a further investigation, or providing a further written response to outstanding points.

 If you remain dissatisfied following our attempts to resolve your complaint you can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to review your case.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman 
Millbank Tower 
Millbank 
London 
SW1P 4QP 

Tel: 0345 015 4033 
Fax: 0300 061 4000 
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk 

Further information about the role of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is available from their website. 

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) have shared some information for any patients detained under the Mental Health Act.

The booklet  aims to help our patients to understand their rights to meet one of our Mental Health Act Commissioners when CQC are visiting a hospital ward, and what they can expect from CQC.

This information also explains patient rights about taking medication and how to complain if they need to.