Complaints

Swansea Bay University Health Board aims to provide the very best care and treatment.

We welcome all your views and want to learn from your experiences, good or bad.

The vast majority of people are happy with the service they receive. Sometimes though, things might not go as well as expected. By telling us about your concerns, we can apologise to you, investigate and try to put things right. We will also learn lessons and improve services.

However, there are some things that we cannot deal with under the arrangements, such as a complaint which was made and investigated under the arrangements that were in place before 1 April 2011.

Previously the health board was unable to deal with complaints regarding private patients. However, this has now been reviewed - further information below.

Complaints or concerns may be made through the medium of Welsh; in person, in writing or by telephone. A complaint or concern made in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than a complaint or concern made in English.

How can I raise my concern?

In person:

If you feel able to do so, the best place to start is by talking to the staff who were involved with your care and treatment. They can try to sort out your concern immediately.

Via our Let's Talk campaign

If you wish to report what you think may be poor care while in hospital, or if you want to tell us about great care, you can use our Let's Talk campaign:

Please tell a member of staff straight away
Or, use our dedicated email: SBU.LetsTalk@wales.nhs.uk
Or you can ring us on 01639 684440 and leave a voicemail

Your concern will be treated confidentially, and you do not need to give your name or personal details, unless you want a reply.

If you wish to make a complaint you can contact the Patient Feedback Team, which deals with complaints:

Telephone: 01639 683363/683316

Text: 07903594520

Email: SBU.Complaints@wales.nhs.uk

Please provide us with the full name and address of the patient the complaint relates to, along with a contact telephone number for the patient or someone nominated to speak on their behalf.

Or you can write to:

Dr Richard Evans

Interim Chief Executive

SB Health Board Headquarters

1 Talbot Gateway

Baglan Energy Park

Port Talbot

SA12 7BR

Complaints by private patients:

Private patient complaints can be sent to the SB Complaints inbox alternatively, complainants can be sent direct to the Chief Executive by letter. On receipt the complaint will be reviewed and the appropriate action taken.

The complainant will be informed of the action. This will be confirmed by email or in an acknowledgement letter to the complainant.

What if I have a complaint about my GP or other primary care provider?

If you have a concern about services that you have received from you General Practitioner (GP), dentist, pharmacist or optician you should ask the practice to look into this for you. If you feel you require further advice, you can contact the health board on 01639 683316 who will advise you on the next steps.

Llais - your voice in health and social care

If you need to raise a concern about an NHS or social care service, you can talk to Llais. Their trained, dedicated complaints advocacy staff will provide you with the free, independent, and confidential support you are entitled to.

They will help you raise your concern and:

Support you to make a complaint about a service, care or treatment provided or paid for by the NHS or local authority
Support you to make a complaint on someone else’s behalf, including if someone has died
Listen to your concerns
Put you in touch with other organisations if we think that someone else can also help
Answer questions about the process and explain your options
Provide a step-by-step guide to the process and offer some tips

Get in touch with your local Llais team on 01639 683490 or e-mail them at nptandswansea.enquiries@llaiscymru.org and one of the team will talk to you about your concern, what sort of help you think you require and if you have any particular needs such as large print materials or access to someone who can sign.

Please note that they do not provide advocacy services directly to children and young people about social care services (children's services). But they can help children and young people with their concerns about NHS care.

What happens next?

We will:

Let you know that we have received your concern within five working days after the day it is received (weekends and bank holidays not included)
At the same time, ask you if you have any particular needs that we should be aware of in dealing with your concern
Also ask you how much you want to be involved and get your consent to accessing your health records, if this is needed
Investigate your concern
As part of the investigation, decide with you whether we need to get specialist advice (such as a clinical opinion) or other independent help with sorting out your concern
Let you know what we have found and what we are going to do about it

In most cases, we will let you have a final reply within 30 working days of the date when we first received your concern (weekends and bank holidays not included). If we can’t reply to you in that time, we will give you the reasons why and let you know when you can expect a reply.

Some cases might need further investigation under the Redress Arrangements. Redress is a range of actions that can be taken to resolve a concern where the organisation might have been at fault in causing some harm. It can include a written apology and explanation of what happened, an offer of treatment/rehabilitation to help relieve the problem and/or financial compensation.

If Redress may apply to your concern, we will let you know what this means in more detail.

What you should do if you are still unhappy?

If your concern has been looked at by us and you are still not happy with our response, you can contact the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.

Where a person remains dissatisfied with the outcome of an investigation of the Health Board’s compliance with the Welsh Language Standards, or a failure on the Health Board’s part to provide a bilingual service, they have the right to contact the Welsh Language Commissioner.

Phone: 0345 6033 221

E-mail: post@cyg-wlc.wales

Welsh Language Commissioner
Market Chambers
5–7 St Mary Street
Cardiff CF10 1AT