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Tell us about your experience
At Nottinghamshire Hospice we aim to meet all our patients’ physical, emotional, psychological and social needs and ensure that their families are supported both through and after this difficult time.
Our patients are central to services and we value your feedback, so if you’ve received care from us we’d love to hear from you about your experience via the form below.
We see your compliments and complaints as an opportunity to recognise when things went well, learn and improve the way that we work, and how to put things right when your experience is not as expected.
One of our team may leave you a feedback card and return envelope, or you can use the form below – please use it to tell us about your experience.
We ensure that:
- Any person who complains will be taken seriously, treated with dignity, respect and without discrimination.
- All complaints will be acknowledged within two working days of receipt.
- All complaints will be fully investigated.
- All formal responses will be given within 20 working days of receipt.
- We will acknowledge mistakes and apologise when we need to.
How to raise a concern or make a complaint:
- Talk to a member of staff you feel comfortable with.
- Ask to speak to a manager or, if you prefer, the Chief Executive Officer.
- Ask a friend or family member to raise your concerns on your behalf (we will need your consent in order to discuss your care).
Let us know
Duty of Candour – a guide for patients and carers
The Duty of Candour is a law that means, that, as a healthcare provider, we must be open and honest with our patients and families. It came into force on 27th November 2014.
One of the main aims of the Duty of Candour is that you have trust in us to be honest with you about your care and treatment, especially if there are problems.
What incidents are affected by the Duty of Candour
Duty of Candour applies when there has been a “notifiable safety incident”. This is a serious incident which has resulted in:
- Moderate or severe harm to the patient
- Prolonged psychological harm to the patient
- Death of the patient
Moderate harm is when there has been a short-term impact on a patient as a result of an unexpected or unintended incident. This may result in an increased need for treatment, an unexpected admission to hospital, cancelling of treatment or transfer to another area of care such as intensive care.
Severe harm is when there has been a permanent impact or lessening of functions that is directly related to the incident.
Prolonged psychological harm is psychological harm that is experienced or likely to be experienced for a continuous period of at least 28 days.
What you can expect from us
Although we always endeavor to prevent incidents occurring, unfortunately there are times when something may happen that is detrimental to your care. On those occasions we will:
- Tell you and/or your family what has happened and apologise.
- Provide you and/or your family with a true and accurate account of all the facts.
- Provide reasonable support to you and/or your family.
- Share our findings with you and/or your family.
- Identify the cause/s of the incident.
- Let you and/or your family ask any questions.
- Undertake further investigation and then write to you and/or your family to confirm the information already provided to date. As well as, the outcome of the investigation and offer a further apology.
- Offer a follow-up meeting if required to discuss the outcome of the investigations.
Why was the Duty of Candour introduced?
In 2013, Robert Francis QC published his report into failings at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. He made many recommendations for change throughout the NHS. One of his recommendations was for the Duty of Candour which has now come into force.
Who has to comply with the Duty of Candour?
The Duty of Candour applies to all providers of healthcare registered with the Care Quality Commission.
Can I still make a complaint?
The Duty of Candour does not affect your right to complain. You can make a formal complaint if you are not happy with any aspect of your care, even if your concerns are not affected by the Duty of Candour. We will aim to deal with your complaint to your satisfaction but if you are not happy with our response or want more support, these organisations can help:
POhWER
0300 456 2370
www.pohwer.net
Care Quality Commission
03000 616 161
www.cqc.org.uk
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
0345 015 4033
www.ombudsman.org.uk
