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NHS Medical Negligence
Introduction to NHS Medical Negligence
Sometimes when a patient receives medical care the doctor, surgeon, hospital or other medical professional or facility causes harm or injury to the patient from medical negligence. Sometimes this medical negligence is caused in part by the NHS and a patient may want to file a complaint with them. Before you consider taking any legal action, your first step when dealing with NHS medical negligence, is to file an official complaint with the relevant trust. There is usually a six-month time limit in which you have to file a complaint with the NHS.
How to File a Complaint for NHS Medical Negligence
To file a complaint, you will need to mail an official letter to your local NHS office detailing your NHS medical negligence facts and be sure to mail it within the six month time limit. Before you even begin to write this letter, you should take some time to make a list of all of the relevant facts about your medical care so that you do not forget to mention any of them. You want to make your letter as precise as possible so that the NHS will not be able to distort any of the facts regarding your NHS medical negligence case.
You will also want to conclude your letter with a list of questions that you would like a response to. Ask those questions that will provide you with more clarity as to why a decision was made or process done and do not leave any question out. A good rule is to make your letter about three or four pages long and only add the facts with as much precision as possible. You may think to receive legal counsel before sending the letter about your NHS medical negligence but if the NHS knows that you have legal counsel they may refuse to answer your letter and only work through your solicitor.
You should address your letter to the Chief Executive and mark the top of the letter in bold letters as an official NHS Formal Complaint. You will need to sign your letter followed by your printed name and contact information. Be sure that the letter is postmarked no later than six months after you received services. In order to have proof that your letter was both mailed and mailed on time, you should send the letter by recorded delivery.
After the NHS Medical Negligence Complaint
It usually takes between twenty to forty days before you receive a response but there is no required timeline set that they are required to respond by. If you have not heard back after forty days, you should call and check the status of your complaint. This first response is referred to as a local resolution and it may or may not satisfy your NHS medical negligence complaint. If you are unsatisfied with their response, you have two months after receiving your response to file an appeal. If you appeal, they will perform an independent review that is done by an independent group of medical professionals called the Health Care Commission. They will conduct a total review of your case and send you a letter detailing their findings. At this point in your NHS medical negligence complaint, you can stop or proceed on to the final step and try to have your case reviewed by the Health Service Ombudsman or file a legal case in court.
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