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Complaint about NHS care (England)
England · in English
€2.00This document is sold blank, to print and complete by hand.
Made for use in England
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For a patient in England, or someone complaining with their consent, who is unhappy with care from a GP practice, a hospital, a dentist or another NHS service. A formal complaint under the NHS complaints regulations of 2009, to the provider or to the integrated care board: it says what happened, what you want done, and that you may go to the Public Service Ombudsman (until 1 October 2026 the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman). It is not a claim for compensation. Sent by email. Sold blank, to complete by hand, as it holds health data.
- Made for use in England
- Last updated October 28, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- You want to complain about your GP surgery in England and need it in writing.
- The hospital missed something important in a relative's care and you want answers.
- PALS could not sort out your problem and you want to make a formal NHS complaint.
- You want to complain about an NHS consultant or how you were treated on a ward.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Town or city
- Sender's postcode
- Date
- Recipient
- Recipient's address
- Recipient's postcode
- Patient
- NHS number (if known)
- Period the complaint covers
- What the complaint is about
- Requested outcome
- Phone
- Attachments
Common questions
- Who should I send an NHS complaint to in England?
- Either to the service itself, such as the GP practice, hospital trust or dentist, or to the commissioner, which is now the integrated care board for your area; not to both. For help first, hospitals have a free Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), and your council can put you in touch with the free, independent NHS complaints advocacy service in your area. A complaint about care is not a claim for compensation, which is separate.
- Is there a time limit for an NHS complaint in England?
- Yes: normally 12 months from the event, or from when you became aware of it. A later complaint can still be accepted if you had good reasons for the delay and it is still possible to investigate fairly. The service should acknowledge your complaint within three working days and agree with you how and when it will respond. The NHS Constitution says that complaining will not adversely affect your future treatment.
- What if I am unhappy with the final response to my NHS complaint?
- You can ask the Public Service Ombudsman to look at it, free. That is the name the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has used since 1 October 2026; its powers did not change. It normally expects you to have finished the local complaints process first and to come to it within 12 months of becoming aware of the problem. It can recommend an apology, a remedy or changes, but it is not a court and does not award damages for negligence.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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