A complaint can be made by anyone who is affected by the actions or decisions of the Trust. If you are complaining on someone else's behalf, we will need to check with them that they are happy for us to respond to you.

If you are unhappy about something, then it is always best to make your complaint as soon as possible and not more than 12 months after the incident or issue occurred. This time limit may sometimes be extended if there is a genuine reason why you could not make the complaint sooner.

To fully investigate your complaint, we may need to share some information from your medical records with clinicians and managers who work at the Trust. We respect patient confidentiality at all times.

The quickest way to resolve any issues is usually to talk to a member of staff involved in your care. If you prefer, you can contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service. 

If you want to make a formal complaint you can contact our Chief Executive or the Complaints Department:

Complaints Department, Maudsley Hospital, London SE5 8AZ
Telephone: 020 3228 2444
Email: complaints@slam.nhs.uk

If you have something you want to say about our services, you can also visit the NHS website.

Contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service if you are not sure if you want to make a formal complaint.

PALS can help resolve any problems you might have with our services, whether you are a patient, carer or member of the public.

They can also tell you about the complaints procedure and independent complaints advocacy services.

It is important to be clear what you want to happen as a result of your complaint. You may want:

• an apology
• someone to explain what has happened
• some changes or improvements to be made
• to make sure the same thing does not happen again

We will contact you within three days of receiving your complaint to acknowledge it and make arrangements to deal with it. It is helpful if you could provide a daytime phone number for us to contact you. We will discuss with you how long it will take to respond to your specific concerns.

If you are unhappy with our response and need further information, you can ask for a meeting with a senior manager to discuss your concerns. Please contact the Complaints Department who can arrange a meeting for you.

We hope a meeting will resolve any concerns. If you still feel that they have not been resolved please contact the Complaints Department who can discuss further options available to you under the NHS Complaints Procedure.

You can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to investigate your complaint. You should do this within six months of our final response to you. You can write to them at:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP
Telephone: 0345 015 4033
Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk 

Your local NHS complaints advocacy service can help you with your complaint. They can write letters, attend meetings with you, and provide interpreters if needed. They can also provide independent mental health advocates if you are being treated under the Mental Health Act.

Our main leaflet is Concerns, complaints, suggestions or compliments?.

We also have Concerns or complaints? (brief/easier read) and Large print. 

Translations of our brief leaflet are available in:

• Albanian
• Arabic
• Farsi
• French
• Polish
• Portugese
• Somali
• Spanish
• Tamil
• Turkish

This is our leaflet for people with learning difficulties about mental health services.

NHS England have published a guide for carers of people with a learning disability, autism or both about making feedback, concerns and complaints easier called Ask Listen Do: Top tips for families and carers.