The way how you can make a complaint about primary care services changes from the 1 July 2023

All members of the public have the right to make a complaint about any aspect of NHS care. However, they way the complaint can be made about primary care services will be changing from the 1^st of July 2023. Primary care services include GP`s, dentists, opticians and pharmacy services.

How will the process for making primary care complaints change on 1 July 2023?

From 1 July 2023 the way members of the public make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner is changing - rather than contacting NHS England, they will contact their local integrated care board (ICB). The public can still complain directly to the provider (GP, dentist etc) – this is not changing.

There are two ways you can make a complaint:

1. You can complain to the healthcare provider - an organisation where you received the NHS service, for example a GP surgery or dental surgery.  That does not change after 1 July 2023.
2. You can complain to the commissioner of the service - an organisation that paid for the service or care you received. After 1 July 2023 if you want to make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner you will now contact NHS North East London integrated care board instead of NHS England.

You can do this by:

Telephone: 020 8221 5750

E-mail: nelondonicb.complaints@nhs.net

Writing to them at:  Complaints Department, NHS North East London, 4th Floor – Unex Tower, 5 Station Street, London E15 1DA 

What happens if you have an ongoing complaint?

• Members of the public with ongoing complaints received on/after 1 July 2022 will receive a letter from NHS England informing them that the ICB is now handling their complaint with confirmation of their case handler.
• Members of the public with any ongoing complaints received before 1 July 2022 will receive a letter from NHS England informing them that their complaint is being retained by NHS England with confirmation of their case handler.

If you have any queries and need more information, please contact nelondonicb.complaints@nhs.net. 

There are some specialised services, such as Health and Justice, where the care provided by a GP in a prison setting is still commissioned directly by NHS England and therefore NHS England would still manage these complaints.  List of retained services listed below:

• Specialised Commissioning
• Health and Justice
• Armed Forces Health
• Section 7a (Public Health Immunisations and Vaccinations)
• PCSE
• Services delivered nationally by NHSE to patients/public (such as Screening Call and Recall, NHS App etc)

This list is not exhaustive. 

There are many organisations that will help signpost people to information about how to provide feedback or make a complaint about healthcare services. These are some of the main ones:

Your local ICB website Home - NHS North East London (icb.nhs.uk)

The NHS website How to complain to the NHS - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Gov.uk NHS complaints guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)