There are currently 151 primary care trusts (PCTs), 2,312 hospitals and around 10,500 GP practices in the UK.

According to the 2010 Care Quality Commission in-patient survey, 92 per cent of patients (approximately 66,000 people took part in the survey) rated the service received by the NHS as good (14 per cent), very good (35 per cent) or excellent (43 per cent).

Unfortunately, the provision of NHS care is not always of a high standard. In 2010/2011, the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) received 8,655 clinical negligence claims, raising the total number of unsettled claims to 21,339 by March 2011. Clearly, not every patient is happy with the standard of care provided by the NHS and the 8 per cent of in-patients who failed to rate the service positively may have grounds to file a complaint or bring a claim for compensation. Provided below is a guide to making a claim or complaint against the NHS.

The NHS Constitution

The NHS Constitution confers certain rights on patients who wish to complain about the service they received from the NHS. According to the constitution, every patient has the right to make a complaint, which must be dealt with efficiently. All complaints must be properly investigated and the outcome of any subsequent investigation must be sent to the person who made the complaint. If a person is not satisfied with the way in which a complaint has been handled, the issue can be referred to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, who is independent of the Government and the NHS.

How to Complain

Details of a hospital's complaints procedure should be requested from the hospital itself, but a complaint can also be made to the local PCT that is responsible for the care provided. In addition to referring cases to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, it is possible to apply for a judicial review of a decision made by a PCT.

Why Complain?

Many patients complain to the NHS in order to have their voices heard. The complaints procedure provides patients with the opportunity to resolve problems pertaining to treatment that has been supplied or withheld. Complaining to the NHS can also result in compensation being awarded to patients who have been wronged in some way or another.

Complain or Claim?

The complaints procedure supported by the NHS may act as an alternative to clinical negligence claims in some cases, but these avenues to justice ought not to be mistaken as one and the same. In the majority of cases, bringing a clinical negligence claim against the NHS is preferable to relying on the internal procedures implemented by the NHS. Specially trained no win no fee solicitors can guide the victims of clinical or medical negligence through various steps in order to ensure that the maximum amount of compensation is awarded to claimants wherever possible.