Making a formal complaint

Whilst we are always pleased to receive comments in appreciation of our services, we acknowledge that we do not always get it right. We treat complaints seriously and want to ensure that we learn from them, taking action to improve our service. Our aim is to provide the highest standards of service and we welcome your comments and suggestions to assist us in achieving this aim.

We have now introduced a new complaints process called ‘See it my way’ which was designed in full consultation with our patients. We aim to resolve all complaints to the satisfaction of the person making the complaint. This may be the patient or anyone else/advocacy organisation making a complaint on behalf of the patient. If the latter, the patient will be required to give consent.

How to make a formal complaint

Complaints should ideally be in writing and can be sent by email or post, however, we are able to support anyone wishing or needing to raise their issues in any way. Please do not hesitate to contact us as detailed below.

On receipt of your complaint, we will send you an acknowledgement within three working days. We aim to investigate and respond to you within 25 – 50 working days though this may be longer (or indeed not as long), depending on the complexity of your concerns. We pledge to keep you updated if there are any anticipated delays and our contact details are below should you wish to contact us:

Lincoln County Hospital

Greetwell Road, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN2 4AX
Telephone: 01522 573883

Pilgrim Hospital

Boston, Sibsey Road, Boston, Lincolnshire PE21 9QS
Telephone: 01205 445689

Contact us by email:

[email protected]

Complaints opening times are:

Monday-Thursday 8:30am – 4pm and Friday  8am – 4pm

If you want to make written complaint, you can do this by writing to the Complaints Teams, who can be contacted on 01522 573883 or email [email protected]

Who can complain?

You can make a complaint if you are a patient or if you have been affected, or are likely to be affected, by something an NHS organisation member of NHS staff has done or not done. You can also complain on behalf of someone else if you have his or her permission in writing.

What is the time limit for making a complaint?

As soon as possible. Complaints should normally be made within 12 months of the date of the event that you’re complaining about, or as soon as the matter first came to your attention. The time limit can sometimes be extended (so long as it’s still possible to investigate the complaint). An extension might be possible, such as in situations where it would have been difficult for you to complain earlier, for example, when you were grieving or undergoing trauma. Will my complaint be kept confidential?
If you are complaining about a treatment, the person investigating your complaint will need to get the relevant information from your records. If you don’t want them to do this, you should let the complaints manager know. We also assure you that your care and service provision will not be negatively affected by the fact that you have made a complaint.

What if I am not happy with the response?

If you are not happy with the response to your complaint you can ask the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman to investigate your complaint by writing to:

Telephone: 0345 015 4033
Email: [email protected]

Where can I get more advice and help?

Making a complaint can be daunting, but help is available from our team. In addition to this, independent advice can be sought from VoiceAbility. VoiceAbility is one of the largest providers of advocacy services in the UK and England’s largest provider of NHS Complaints Advocacy and supports anyone wishing to make a complaint about NHS care or treatment. This independent organisation can offer you confidential support free of charge.

Telephone: 0300 303 1660 (local rate charge)
Email: [email protected]
Click on this link to visit the VoiceAbility website