Support from a Health Complaints Advocate (IHCA)

Self-refer to our Independent Health Complaints Advocacy service:

Derbyshire Mind’s Independent Health Complaints Advocacy service is here to support people like yourself in Derbyshire to make a formal complaint about their NHS care or treatment, including any complaint against an organisation or service funded by the NHS.

If you are unhappy with the service you or others have received from a hospital doctor, dentist, GP surgery or any other NHS service you can raise your concerns about it.

By raising your concerns it can help put things right and the NHS can learn from your experience. This could include an explanation, an apology and/or information about how the NHS has used your experience to improve services or care.

Who is the Service For?

The service is available for any Derbyshire resident who wishes to make a formal complaint. You can also complain on a friend or relative’s behalf as long as they agree; you should get their permission in writing.

If your friend or relative is very ill, or does not have the capacity to give permission because of an impairment or disability, you may complain on their behalf without their permission, although the health provider will wish to confirm their lack of capacity before accepting the complaint.

You may raise a complaint, or take over a complaint on behalf of a friend or relative who has died even if you do not have their written permission.

How Can the Service Support You?

We Can:

  • Listen to your concerns and help you think about what you would like to achieve from your complaint, for example an apology, an explanation and/or an improvement to NHS services.
  • Signpost you to other sources of help.
  • Explain the NHS complaints process to you.
  • Provide a self-help toolkit to guide you through the complaints process. This can be downloaded from our website.
  • Provide you with an advocate to support you through the process.

 

Our Advocate Can:

  • Help you to write letters
  • Go with you to meetings about your complaint
  • Give you the opportunity to speak confidentially to someone who is independent of the NHS.

Our Health Complaints Advocate cannot support you with matters outside of the NHS complaints procedure.

The service is free, independent and confidential

Make a Referral

If you would like to make a referral to our Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service please complete this online Referral Form:

IHCA Referral Form

What Happens Next?

After you have completed the referral form, our Advocacy Admin team will be in touch to confirm that this has been received and to provide further information about the health complaints advocacy service.

Our Independent Health Complaints Advocate will then contact you to arrange a meeting or telephone call to discuss your complaint and the support that we can provide.