Updated 02/04/20

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group has paused the investigation of new and existing complaints. This enables clinical staff, (including GPs) to focus on front line patient care.  

We will continue to review and acknowledge all new complaints and will act upon any concerns about patient safety or safeguarding.  However, we will not investigate the complaint or formally respond until further notice.  All customers awaiting a response to a complaint will be notified that the investigation is on hold. 

We are mindful of our responsibility to support vulnerable people who may be distressed by work pausing on their complaint.  In these cases, we will continue to ensure that appropriate action is taken where we can and we will signpost people to organisations who can provide support. 

Our offices are not accessible to staff and they are working remotely. If you need to contact us about a complaint, please email the Quality Team at qualityteam.safehaven@nhs.net 

If you do not have access to email, you can write to us at:

Quality Team

Hillder House

49-5 Gawber Road

Barnsley

S75 2PY 

We will resume our complaints service as soon as possible. When this happens, we will post information about next steps on our website.

In the meantime, thank you for your patience and understanding.

Updated 30/03/2020

Pausing the NHS Complaints Procedure

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic we are supporting a system wide “pause” of the NHS complaints process which will allow all health care providers in all sectors to concentrate their efforts on the front-line duties and responsiveness to COVID-19.

The initial “pause” period is recommended to be for three months with immediate effect. All health care providers can opt to operate as usual regarding the management of complaints if they wish to do so and this “pause” is not being enforced.

Please note that as of 26 March 2020, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has stopped accepting new NHS complaints and has stopped work on open cases.

Patient Experience Feedback

Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group (BCCG) welcomes comments, views and feedback about the services it provides. When we do something well or alternatively when we could do something better we want to hear about it. The information helps us to improve the quality of services.

You can read our detailed Management of Patient Experience Feedback Policy here.

How do I make a comment, complaint or compliment about BCCG?

Compliments

The CCG recognises that compliments are a valuable source of feedback. Positive feedback received regarding services can provide an opportunity to acknowledge improvements and successes, to recognise good practise and to apply this across other areas.

Compliments and comments can be provided in a number of ways including by telephone, in person, in writing (by email or letter), or via the CCG’s social media. Staff who receive compliments and comments should report these to the Quality Team, so that they can be formally recorded and acknowledged. The Quality Team will ensure that staff and are made aware of any compliments received about them and also inform their line manager.

Contact Details: Telephone: 01226 433772

Post: Quality Team BCCG, 49-51 Hillder House, Barnsley S75 2PY.

Email: qualityteam.safehaven@nhs.net

Web: www.barnsleyccg.nhs.uk

Do you have a concern or complaint?

Anyone who is receiving, or has received, NHS treatment or services and who is affected by an action, omission or decision can complain. This includes services provided by independent contractors who have a contract with the CCG to provide NHS services as part of the NHS contract.

You can complain on behalf of someone else however we will need consent from the individual for us to investigate the complaint or proof that you have authority to act on their behalf. Please note, if you have already complained to another NHS organisation and have received a response from them we will not able to re-investigate the same concerns.

We appreciate it is not always easy to know where you should raise your complaint. In general any concerns should be sent directly to the organisation providing the service you have used. Below is a table which provides the contact details of the NHS organisation, that you should contact depending on the service that you wish to complain about.  

What Service do you wish to provide feedback about	Who to direct your feedback to	Contact Details
Barnsley CCG Policy	Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group	Post: Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group Hillder House, 49/51 Gawber Road Barnsley, S75 2PY Tel: 01226 433772 Email: qualityteam.safehaven@nhs.net Web: www.barnsleyccg.nhs.uk
NHS Continuing Healthcare	Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group	Post: Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group Hillder House, 49/51 Gawber Road Barnsley, S75 2PY Tel: 01226 433634 Email: BARNCCG.Barnsleycontinuinghealthcare@nhs.net Web: http://www.barnsleyccg.nhs.uk/ patient-help/continuing-health-care.htm
NHS treatments provided by: GP Practice Dentist Pharmacy Optician	NHS England	Post: NHS England PO Box 16738, Redditch B97 9PT Tel: 0300 311 22 33 Email: england.contactus@nhs.net Web: www.england.nhs.uk
Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust	PALS Service (in the first instance)	Tel: 01226 432330 - (Mon - Fri 9am-5pm) Post: PALS Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Gawber Road, Barnsley S75 2EP Email: barnsleypals@nhs.net Web: www.barnsleyhospital.nhs.net   Post: Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Gawber Road, Barnsley S75 2EP Tel: 01226 432571 Email: bhnftcomplaints@nhs.net Web: www.barnsleyhospital.nhsuk
Mental Health and Learning Disability Services	South West Yorkshire NHS Partnership Foundation Trust	Post: Customer Services South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Block 10, Fieldhead, Ouchthorpe Lane, Wakefield WF1 3SP Tel: 0800 587 2108 Email: customer.servicesSWYT@nhs.net Web: www.southwestyorkshire.nhs.uk
General Community Services e.g. District Nursing, Musculoskeletal Service	South West Yorkshire NHS Partnership Foundation Trust	Post: Customer Services South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Block 10, Fieldhead, Ouchthorpe Lane, Wakefield WF1 3SP Tel: 0800 587 2108 Email: customer.servicesSWYT@nhs.net Web: www.southwestyorkshire.nhs.uk
Ambulance Services and Patient Transport Services	Yorkshire Ambulance Service	Post: Patient Relations Helpdesk Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust Springhill 2, Brindley Way, Wakefield 41 Business Park, Wakefield WF2 0XQ Tel: 0333 1300549 Email: yas.patientrelations@nhs.net Web: www.yas.nhs.uk
i-Heart (out of hours)	Barnsley Healthcare Federation	Post: Patient Liaison Officer Barnsley Healthcare Federation Thornton Road Barnsley S70 3NE Tel: 01226 729896 Email: bhf.patientfeedback@nhs.net Web: www.iheartbarnsley.org.uk
Hospice	Barnsley Hospice	Post: Julie Ferry Chief Executive Officer Barnsley Hospice 104 – 106 Church Street, Barnsley S75 2RL Tel: 01226 244244 Email: enquiries@barnsley-hospice.org Web: www.barnsleyhospice.org
Northern General Hospital Royal Hallamshire Hospital Jessop Wing Weston Park Hospital Charles Clifford Dental Hospital	Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust	Post: Kirsten Major, Chief Executive, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 8 Beech Hill Road, Sheffield, S10 2SB. Tel: 0114 271 2400 Email: PST@sth.nhs.uk Web: www.sth.nhs.uk
Adult or Children’s Social Care Services including Care Homes	Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council	Post: Customer Services Feedback and Improvement Team, PO Box 634, Barnsley, S70 9GG Tel: 01226 773555  Web: www.barnsley.gov.uk

 

Support to make a complaint

If you need help to make a complaint you can contact the following independent organisations who can provide you with impartial advice and guidance on how to make a complaint. All complaints will be treated as confidential.

Healthwatch Barnsley

Healthwatch is the independent consumer champion created to gather and represent the views of the public. Healthwatch will play a role at both national and local level and will make sure that the views of the public and people who use services are taken into account. Contact details are as follows:

Tel: 01226 320106

Post: Healthwatch Barnsley, The Core, County Way, Barnsley S70 2JW

Email: healthwatch@vabarnsley.org.uk

Web: www.healthwatchbarnsley.org.uk

DIAL

DIAL provides practical support to help people to explore their options at the different complaint stages and can provide information that can help people to decide what to do.  DIAL also provides advocates to support people to speak up for themselves and represent their own thoughts and feelings. Contact details are as follows:

Tel: 01226 240273

Post: NHS Complaints Advocacy, DIAL Barnsley, 3rd Floor McLintocks Building, Summer Lane, Barnsley S70 2NZ

Email: info@dialbarnsley.org.uk

Web: www.dialbarnsley.org.uk

The "Complain for Change Campaign"

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) have launched "Complain for Change" a website full of simple and accessible information (including material for people with a learning disability) on how to make a complaint.

Click here to visit the "Complain for Change" website.

What happens if I am unhappy with the response?

If you remain unhappy with how your complaint has been handled following the conclusion of local resolution, you can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to review your complaint. You can contact the PHSO at the address below:

Post: PHSO, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP 

Tel: 0345 015 4033

Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk

Web: www.ombudsman.org.uk

NHS Complaints Advocates

Complaint advocates can help if you or someone you know have not had the care or treatment you expect to receive from your NHS services and you want to complain. They provide practical support, they help people to explore their options at the different complaint stages and can provide information that can help people to decide what to do. Advocates can also support people to speak up for themselves and represent their own thoughts and feelings. Further information is available from:

DIAL, Suite 6 – 9, 3^rd Floor, McLintock’s, Summer Lane, Barnsley, S70 2NZ.

Tel – 01226 240273.

E-mail – info@dialbarnsley.org.uk

 

Do you work for a local healthcare service?

The CCG recognises that, in addition to the people receiving services, staff providing the services we commission have a valuable insight into the quality of care being delivered and includes consideration of these views, as part of our quality monitoring activity.

In recognition that individual staff members may not be accessible (or feel able to talk) during quality assurance visits, the CCG wants to highlight that these staff can escalate patient safety concerns that they can demonstrate that their organisation has not effectively acted upon, either to the CCG or other regulatory organisations.

It must be emphasised that the CCG will need to seek evidence that the whistleblowing policy of the relevant healthcare provider organisation has been followed and exhausted and that for individuals to raise concerns anonymously, it will not be possible to provide direct feedback on the subsequent actions of the CCG.