NHS complaints procedure: how to complain about a hospital, GP or dentist

Everyone who provides an NHS service in England must have a complaints procedure, and the NHS pledges that complaining will not adversely affect your future treatment. Many problems can be sorted out by speaking to the staff involved, or to the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), a free, confidential and independent service found in most hospitals.

This guide sets out the procedure in England step by step, then summarises the rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is general information, not legal advice. A complaint can bring an explanation, an apology and changes, but it is separate from a medical negligence claim for compensation.

Step 1: decide who to complain to

You can complain either to the NHS provider directly, such as a GP practice, dental surgery or hospital, or to the commissioner of the service, which is the body that pays for it. You cannot complain to both. NHS England's guidance says the commissioner is:

• your local integrated care board (ICB) for GPs, dentists, opticians and pharmacists, and for hospital care, mental health services, out-of-hours services, NHS 111 and community services such as district nursing;
• NHS England for healthcare in prison, military health services and specialised services for rare and complex conditions;
• your local council for public health services.

If an ICB receives your complaint, it must ask whether you consent to details being sent to the provider, and it can then deal with the complaint itself or, with your consent, pass it on (regulation 7). A complaint sent to the wrong organisation and passed on is treated as made to the right one (regulation 6). Where several organisations are involved, such as your GP, a hospital and the ambulance service, they must work together to give you a co-ordinated response. Adult social care complaints go to the provider or your council, then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman; complaints about the use of the Mental Health Act on someone detained in hospital go to the Care Quality Commission.

Step 2: make the complaint

You can complain verbally, in writing or electronically, and if you complain verbally the organisation must make a written record and give you a copy (regulation 13). A complaint can be made by anyone who receives or has received the service, or who is affected by the action or decision complained about. Someone else can complain for a person who has died, a child, someone who cannot complain because of physical incapacity or a lack of mental capacity, or someone who has asked them to act (regulation 5). If you complain for someone else, NHS England suggests including their written consent.

Say what happened, when and where, who was involved, how it affected you and what you would like to happen, such as an explanation, an apology or a change in practice, and keep copies of everything. A complaint made verbally and resolved to your satisfaction by the next working day does not have to go through the formal procedure (regulation 8).

Step 3: time limits and what happens next

A complaint must be made within 12 months of the event, or of the date it came to your notice, if later. The organisation can still consider a later complaint if you had good reasons for the delay and it can still investigate effectively and fairly (regulation 12).

It must acknowledge your complaint, verbally or in writing, no later than 3 working days after the day it receives it. Working days exclude weekends, Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays in England. It must also offer to discuss how the complaint will be handled and the likely response period, or, if you do not take up the offer, set the period and tell you in writing (regulation 13). NHS England says there is no set timeframe for the response itself.

The organisation must investigate speedily and efficiently, keep you informed, and send a written response signed by the responsible person, explaining how it considered the complaint and its conclusions, confirming any action, and telling you about the ombudsman (regulation 14). If it has not responded within 6 months of receiving the complaint, or a longer agreed period, it must write to explain why.

Free help with a complaint

You do not have to do this alone. Your local authority arranges an independent NHS complaints advocacy service, which is free to use. An advocate can help you write a complaint letter and go to meetings with you, but cannot make the complaint for you or give medical or legal advice. Your local Healthwatch, an independent statutory body, can tell you who provides advocacy where you live. The ombudsman also suggests PALS, the Patients Association or Healthwatch for advice, and Action against Medical Accidents for people affected by medical accidents.

Step 4: the ombudsman

If you are still unhappy after the final response, you can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to look at your complaint. It is the final stage and usually expects you to complain to the organisation first; by law it will not normally investigate until the local procedure has been used and exhausted, unless that is not reasonable (section 4 of the Health Service Commissioners Act 1993). Get your complaint to it within a year of becoming aware of the problem, although it can accept a later one if it considers it reasonable, for example where the organisation took a long time (section 9).

The ombudsman covers the NHS in England, but not private healthcare unless the NHS funded it. It can ask an organisation to acknowledge its mistakes, apologise, pay you back if you were left out of pocket and improve its services, but it cannot make it pay compensation in the way courts can. From 1 October 2026 it will be known as the Public Service Ombudsman, with the same role, legal powers and service.

A complaint or a compensation claim?

The NHS Constitution gives you the right to compensation where you have been harmed by negligent treatment, and the right to be told about any safety incident in your care that has caused, or could still cause, significant harm or death, with the facts, an apology and support. A complaint brings an explanation and changes; compensation for negligence normally needs a claim.

Claims have their own time limits, usually three years from the injury or a later date of knowledge (section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980; section 17 of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973; article 7 of the Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989). You can complain and claim, but do not wait for a complaint to finish before taking legal advice. See our guides to GP misdiagnosis, dental negligence and claim time limits.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Scotland. Complain within six months of finding out about the problem and no later than twelve months after it happened, although the time can be extended (regulation 5 of the Scottish 2012 regulations). The NHS body should try to resolve a straightforward complaint within 5 working days, extendable to 10. If it investigates, it must acknowledge the complaint within 3 working days and report within 20 working days, unless it extends the time (regulations 6A to 6C). The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman will not normally consider a complaint made more than 12 months after you first knew about the matter.

Wales. Concerns raised after 31 March 2026 follow the Listening to People process; earlier ones continue under Putting Things Right. Raise a concern within 12 months of the event, or of finding out, and never three or more years after it (regulation 15 of the Welsh 2011 regulations). Expect an acknowledgement within 5 working days (regulation 22); the organisation must take all reasonable steps to respond within 30 working days, or explain the delay and respond within six months (regulation 24). Where harm is identified, Welsh NHS bodies must consider redress, and time for a court claim does not run while redress is being considered (regulation 30). Llais offers free advocacy, and the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales takes complaints within one year of when you first knew. See our Wales guide.

Northern Ireland. Complain usually within six months of becoming aware of the problem, and normally no later than 12 months after the event. Complaints are acknowledged within two or three working days, with a full response usually within 10 working days for a GP, dentist, pharmacist or optician contacted directly, or 20 working days for a hospital or social care service. The Patient and Client Council can help, and the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman takes complaints within 6 months of the final response (section 26 of the 2016 Act). See our Northern Ireland and Scotland guides.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides: medical negligence claims, GP misdiagnosis, dental negligence, medical negligence in Wales and claim time limits.

Official sources used for this guide: Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009; NHS England: Feedback and complaints about NHS services; Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, s.9; Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman; The NHS Constitution for England; Patient Rights (Complaints Procedure and Consequential Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2012; NHS (Concerns, Complaints and Redress Arrangements) (Wales) Regulations 2011; nidirect: complaints about health services. This guide is general information about the law in the UK, not legal advice; the law can change, so check your own position with a regulated solicitor.