Feedback matters

If you’ve experienced our health care services recently, either as a patient yourself or as a carer or friend of someone else, please tell us how it was. Was it good? What could have been better?

Sharing your experience of care enables us to make improvements when appropriate. Positive feedback boosts staff morale and reinforces good practice, improving care. There are a number of different ways you can leave us feedback:

Care Opinion

Care Opinion is a primary feedback route that goes directly to our services and Patient Experience team. You can tell your story here - Care Opinion tell us your story.

Friends and Family Test (FFT)

Friends and Family Test (FFT) cards are available to leave feedback. The card invites people to leave feedback on the service they have used and offers a range of responses. Scores are submitted to NHS England. Please request a card from a member of the team providing your treatment.

Healthwatch

If you prefer, you can share your experience with Healthwatch, an independent and impartial health and social care champion. Your feedback will remain confidential and may help them to identify areas for improvement. Access to their website is via https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/

National Surveys

You may be contacted with the opportunity to feedback in one of the National Patient Surveys that takes place. For more information on National Surveys via the NHS England website.

Speak to a member of your clinical team

If you have questions or concerns about any aspect of your care, please talk to a member of your clinical team as soon as possible. This way we can do our best to tackle the issue as swiftly as possible.  

Contact PALS

You may wish to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service for advice, support and information including details on  how to make a complaint. More information can be found here - PALS. 

If despite speaking to a member of staff or our PALS team, your concerns remain unresolved, you may wish to make a complaint. We investigate all complaints fully and will advise you of the outcome.

We aim to respond positively to complaints, as your views and experiences help us to improve services for our patients and their relatives in the future.

If you are complaining on behalf of someone else you may be required to complete a consent form. Please ensure that you include your contact details along with the name, NHS number and date of birth of the person that the complaint relates to.

You should make your complaint within 12 months of the incident or within 12 months of the matter coming to your attention. This time limit can sometimes be extended as long as it is still possible to investigate your complaint.

Contact details

Eastern Services

Complaints Manager
Patient Experience Department
Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (Wonford)
Barrack Road
Exeter
EX2 5DW

Email: rduh.complaints-eastern@nhs.net

Northern Services

Complaints Manager
Patient Experience Department
North Devon District Hospital
Raleigh Park
Barnstaple
Devon
EX31 4JB

Email: rduh.complaints-northern@nhs.net 

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

A short film to explain who the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman are and what work they do.

Please see our leaflet on how to raise a concern or make a complaint.

The Devon Advocacy Consortium (click here) provides an independent, professional advocacy service for people over 16 in Devon.

Advocacy is taking action to help people say what they want, secure their rights, represent their interests and to get the services they need. Advocates can visit you at home or a place of your choice and if an advocate can’t help they can find someone who will.

The Devon Advocacy service can help you if:

• You have a health and / or social care related issue or complaint
• An informed choice has to be made
• A person lacks independent support
• The person is lacking in confidence or is having trouble communicating

Contact

Telephone : 0845 231 1900

Email: devonadvocacy@livingoptions.org