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Spotlight on maternity care: your stories, your rights (report)

Making a complaint about maternity care

If you are not happy with the maternity care you have received, you have the right to make a complaint.

Hearing from patients when things go wrong is so important. Sharing your experience can improve services for everyone and help stop mistakes happening again.

This guide tells you how to complain to the NHS in England and what to expect. You can also read our top tips on how to make a complaint.

How to make a complaint 

1. Speak to a member of staff

Before you make a complaint, you could share your views and experiences with a member of staff. Many problems can be sorted out quickly by telling staff about your concerns at the place where you received care. This could be your midwife, your doctor, or someone else. Feel confident in raising your concerns. Staff should welcome your feedback because it can help to improve services.

2. Get advice from someone not involved in your care

If you want help and advice about making a complaint, there are lots of organisations that can support you. For example, you can speak to your local Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), the Patients Association or your local Healthwatch.

3. Make a formal complaint to the NHS

If you want to make a formal complaint, you must do this within 12 months of what happened. You can complain to the NHS organisation you are not happy with (such as a hospital or GP practice). Or you can complain to the commissioner of the service, which will either be NHS England or your local integrated care board.

NHS organisations all have their own complaints process, and you can usually find this on their website, at reception, or by asking staff. If your complaint is about more than one organisation, you only need to make one complaint. The organisation that receives your complaint will work with the others to make sure you get a coordinated response.

After you have sent your complaint, the organisation should contact you within three working days to say they have received it. They should explain what will happen next, how they will handle your complaint and how long it will take.

The organisation must deal with your complaint properly and investigate it as quickly as they can. Some complaints will take longer than others. Communication is really important - they must keep you updated throughout the process so you know what is happening.

The organisation should respond to your complaint in writing. This should tell you how they carried out the investigation and what they found. If they have made mistakes, they should apologise to you. They should explain any lessons learned or changes they will make to put things right.

4. Complain to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

If you are not happy with how the NHS handled your complaint, you can speak to us to look into it. We are an independent organisation and we do not take sides. Our service is free.

You can complain to us if:

  • you have reached the end of the NHS complaints process and you still do not feel the issue has been sorted out
  • the organisation has not dealt with your complaint after six months (unless it has explained why it is taking a long time and given you an expected completion date).

Find out more about how to complain to us and how we deal with complaints.

What to expect when you make a complaint 

The NHS Complaint Standards explain how NHS organisations should approach complaint handling. They are based on My Expectations, which says what patients want to happen when they make a complaint. 

The Complaint Standards say organisations should:

  • welcome complaints in a positive way
  • be thorough and fair
  • give fair and accountable responses
  • promote a learning culture.

When organisations meet the Complaint Standards you should feel: 

  • confident to speak up
  • that making your complaint was simple
  • listened to and understood
  • that your complaint made a difference
  • confident to make a complaint in the future.

Where to get more help 

If you need help making a complaint, there are organisations that can support you:

Communication: Miss A's story