When to make a complaint and when to take legal action
Understanding the difference between when to make a complaint about NHS services and when to look into making a medical negligence claim can be difficult.
We are often asked what’s the difference between the two.
What is medical negligence?
Medical negligence is when a medical professional has provided substandard medical care which has caused a direct injury to the patient or caused an existing condition to get worse. Below are some examples of medical negligence;
- Misdiagnosis – An incorrect diagnosis which could result in a delay in receiving the relevant treatment, or the incorrect treatment being given.
- Delay in diagnosis – Not diagnosing a condition early enough to be able to give the correct treatment.
- Poor management of a medical condition – Failing to review a patient and keep on top of their medical condition.
- Failure to refer – Failing to refer the patient to an appropriate specialist for further investigations.
- Incorrect medical treatment being provided or incorrect medication being prescribed.
- Surgery errors – Mistakes made during surgery, or failure to identify that a mistake has been made which has caused an injury.
What does a complaint cover?
Although a large number of patients have a positive experience whilst in hospital, visiting a GP or having dental work, there are unfortunately people who are unhappy with the standard of care they received. Between 2022 and 2023, there were 229,458 written complaints made to the NHS and that was a 1.7% increase from the previous year (Data on Written Complaints in the NHS, 2022-23 – NHS England Digital).
Complaints can be made for a wide range of reasons. Those reasons include substandard medical care that would be regarded as medical negligence, but also include a range of other concerns such as:
- Poor communication between hospitals, GPs and patients.
- Poor patient nutrition and hydration.
- Staff behavior.
- Staff shortages .
- Delays in receiving appointments and waiting times.
- Charges for dental treatment.
- Administrative errors.
Making a complaint when you suspect medical negligence.
It is often worth making a complaint as a first step, even where you think that there may have been medical negligence.
Making a complaint does not stop you from going on to take legal action, though it is important to bear in mind that strict time limits.
Making a complaint can even be beneficial to a subsequent legal claim. This is because the responses that the NHS provide are sometimes very useful, as they can show what a hospital or GP has admitted too, and what they would be likely to defend which gives a good starting point when later taking legal action.
How we can help
If when you receive a response to your complaint you find that your questions have not been answered, or there is an indication that there has been medical negligence, you are welcome to contact our free legal helpline.
Litigation assistant, Jade Scoble would be happy to take some initial details from you about your case along with a copy of the complaint response, and review them with our team of medical negligence solicitors. If we feel that you have a good case then we will provide you with details of our fully funded No Win, No Fee scheme.
You can also read our other articles on NHS complaints: ‘What to do if you are unhappy with the response to your complaint’, and ‘Should I make a hospital complaint or bring a claim?’
