Making a complaint
At King's, our staff will do whatever they can to ensure you receive treatment of the highest standard. However, sometimes a misunderstanding can happen or you may be dissatisfied with your treatment, and you will want to let us know.
Here we explain how to make a complaint and the steps we take to resolve complaints as quickly and fully as possible. We treat every complaint seriously and making one will not affect your future care or treatment at King's.
Talking it through
If you have concerns about any aspect of our service, please approach a member of staff in the department or ward and they will try to resolve things as quickly as possible. If you are on a ward, the best person to speak to is the ward manager or senior nurse on duty. If you are an outpatient, you can ask for help at reception when you attend your appointment.
What if I am not satisfied?
You can contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 020 3299 3601, which may be able to help resolve problems or provide useful information.
The PALS office is open from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. You will find it on the ground floor of the Hambleden Wing, just inside the main entrance from Bessemer Road. Please ask the Helpdesk for directions.
Making a formal complaint
If the PALS team cannot deal with your concerns or you want to make a formal complaint, you can:
- call the Complaints Department on 020 3299 3209
- complete this online form
- write to the Complaints Department and either email kch-tr.patientcomplaints@nhs.net or post your letter to the following address:
Complaints Department
King's College Hospital
Denmark Hill
London SE5 9RS
So we can process your complaint, it would be helpful to include in your letter or email the following information:
- your full personal and contact details such as date of birth, address, phone number(s) and patient hospital number
- a full description of your concerns. Please state dates, locations and name(s) of staff involved, where possible. If you are raising more than one concern, it is useful to number each of the different points you are making. This helps us to make sure we answer all of your concerns.
- if you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we may need to get their authorisation confirming that they have given permission for us to provide you with details of their care. We will send you a form to complete.
For more information, download our leaflet about the Trust's Complaints Procedure.
After you have made a complaint
We will acknowledge formal complaints within three working days. We will carry out a full investigation which we normally aim to complete within 25 working days. But if your complaint is particularly complex or involves a number of different specialists or services, we will contact you to agree an alternative timescale.
You may be offered a meeting to discuss your complaint. We may also agree to request an independent clinician to review the patient records and provide a report on the care provided.
If you are unhappy with the way we have dealt with your complaint, or if your complaint cannot be resolved by us, you have the right to appeal to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and ask for a review of your case. The Ombudsman is independent of the NHS. We will send you further details of this process with our responses to your complaint.
Further information and advice
Complaints Procedure Leaflet
Our Complaints Procedure leaflet has full details of how to make a complaint to King's.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
If you are unhappy with the way we have dealt with your complaint or if your complaint cannot be resolved by us, you have the right to appeal to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and ask for a review of your case. The Ombudsman is independent of the NHS. We will send you further details of this process with our responses to your complaint.
The Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS)
You may wish to have an external advocate, friend or relative represent or support you through the complaints process. The Independent Complaints Advocacy Service can provide free advice and support about making complaints. This service is independent of the NHS.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC)
The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. They regulate care provided by the NHS, local authorities, private companies and voluntary organisations, with the aim to make sure better care is provided for everyone - in hospitals, care homes and people's own homes.