ICAS

The National Health Service (NHS) works hard to treat everyone properly and promptly. Most people using the health service are happy with their treatment but sometimes things can go wrong.

If you are unhappy with the service you or others have received from a hospital, doctor, dentist, local surgery or any other NHS service, you can raise your concerns about it.

By raising your concerns it can help put things right quickly and the NHS can learn from your experience. This could include an explanation, an apology and information about how the NHS has used your experience to improve services or care.

This website aims to help you feel confident about raising your concerns yourself. This website:

• Explains the different options for raising your concerns about the NHS
• Offers practical tips and things for you to think about
• Tells you how ICAS can help you with independent support

ICAS can help you raise a concern about NHS care or treatment.

ICAS is:

• Free
• Independent
• Confidential

Your ICAS Advocate will contact you as soon as possible. They will take time to listen to your experience and can then talk to you about what support you need to make your complaint. Your Advocate will be able to give you information about the different ways that you can raise your concerns with the NHS organisation (see Step 3) so that you feel comfortable with the process.

Your Advocate can also help you think about what you would like to achieve from your complaint. People want different outcomes when they complain such as an apology, an explanation or an improvement to NHS services.

ICAS Advocates can:

• Give you an opportunity to speak confidentially to someone who is independent of the NHS
• Explore the options available to you at every stage of the complaints procedure
• Help you with writing effective letters to the right people
• Prepare you for and go to meetings with you
• Contact and speak to third parties if you wish them to
• Help you think about whether you are happy with the responses you receive from the NHS organisation

Your Advocate will not try to persuade you to do or not do anything and will always respect your decisions.