You said, we did

Examples of steps taken as a result of feedback from complaints.

January 2026

Mental Health Services

You said: I did not know what activities my daughter would be able to do while on the ward.
We did: The ward activity timetable has been clearly displayed on the ward. (AMH Inpatient)

You said: I was being treated differently by staff due to my ethnicity.
We did: A development session is being run by the Equality and Diversity team which will discuss how to sensitively discuss ethnicity with patients. (AMH Inpatient)

You said: A referral was never made for me, despite this being agreed in an appointment.
We did: An internal working instruction is being developed which requires referrers to check that their referrals are being processed. (AMH Community)

You said: The service declined to see my son and it seemed like we were being passed between services due to his complex needs.
We did: Staff are able to seek advice from colleagues who are registered children's nurses and can offer support with care planning where physical health and mental health interact. (Children, Young People and Families)

 

Forensic Services

You said: I slipped in the shower because the floor surface was unsafe.
We did: The Head of Nursing reviewed all bathrooms to ensure they were up to the required safety standards. (Medium Secure)

You said: A staff member was not using appropriate restraint methods.
We did: This incident has contributed to restraint training to ensure staff are aware of the need to use the most up to date techniques when a restraint is required. (Medium Secure)

You said: I was not informed of my son's legal proceedings which led to him receiving a fine from court.
We did: The Social Work office will ensure other teams are aware when a patient has a financial appointee in place. This will ensure they are informed of matters affecting the patient. (High Secure)

You said: I disagree with an allegation made by staff. Staff are working with a negative bias against me.
We did: Staff have been encouraged to accurately document a patient's presentation and to activate body worn cameras for all incidents of aggression. (High Secure)

 

Community Health Services

You said: My stepfather's dressings weren't changed as visits kept being delayed.
We did: Robust processes are in place to manage the safe deferral of visits. All deferred visits are risk assessed to support safe decision making. (Proactive and Planned Care)

You said: My mother was left at home alone following her discharge as the arrangements with the care agency were not fully in place.
We did: The hospital are now provided with the details of the patient's care agency as part of discharge planning so they can liaise directly with the carers when needed. (Urgent Care and Therapy)

You said: The care of my mother was substandard and neglectful.
We did: A back to basics action plan was implemented across hospital wards to address poor practice. (Urgent Care and Therapy)

You said: It took the service ages to respond to my request for a change in medication as there are not enough staff.
We did: A number of new admin staff have been recruited and are now in post. (Specialist Services)

September 2025

Mental Health Services

You said: I was assaulted by another patient as there were not enough staff around to intervene.  
We did: There is now a zonal observations role on the ward to cover communal areas and escalate risk when patients gather in groups. (AMH Inpatient)

You said: I struggled with getting my son to an appointment due to the environment at the appointment site.
We did: The service have produced an accessible leaflet on appointments, what to expect and how to discuss any additional access requirements. (Children, Young People and Families)

You said: I did not receive a call back about my daughter when I raised concerns about her health.
We did: The service has completed a pilot on the duty team process which has now been fully embedded. This includes an improved process for reviewing calls.  (AMH Community)

You said: A report following my assessment contained inaccurate information that had been copied and pasted from elsewhere.
We did: All staff have been reminded that they should not be copying and pasting information in patient notes.  (AMH Community)

 

Forensic Services

You said: There was a delay in the ward completing an action that had been agreed in the ward community meeting.
We did: The ward manager has ensured staff will be made aware of actions from the community meeting as soon as possible when changes to the ward routine have been agreed. (High Secure)

You said: I was provided with food that had been in contact with animal products when I am a vegan.
We did: The kitchen has been reviewed and segregated to allow for the preparation of vegan meals. (Medium Secure)

You said: Some of my property went missing when I sent it to be washed.
We did: A management plan has been shared with all staff to improve their knowledge of the process for managing patient property. (High Secure)

You said: My haircut went wrong because staff did not properly support me with cutting my own hair.
We did: The local procedures on patients cutting their own hair were reviewed with the ward manager. (High Secure)

 

Community Health Services

You said: There was a delay in my mother receiving medication as the team had not received a drug card from the GP.
We did: A new Electronic Direction to Administer form has been introduced to make information sharing digital and more efficient. (Proactive and Planned Care)

You said: My partner had no communication about how long he would be on a wait list for an assessment.
We did: The service have a new website which includes up to date information on wait times. (Specialist Services)

You said: The team made unethical use of safeguarding procedures against my family.  
We did: Additional training in safeguarding awareness has been shared with staff. This will support staff understanding of when safe and well checks should be completed. (Proactive and Planned Care)

You said: There was a delay in physiotherapy starting after my mother was discharged from hospital.  
We did: The Head of Service has liaised with the hospital to discuss referrals between services. (Urgent Care and Therapy)

April 2025

Mental Health Services

You said: A staff member did not recognise the severity of my partner's mental illness and suicide risk when I tried to get him support.  
We did: All recovery workers have now completed Suicide Prevention Training and Handling Crisis Calls training. (AMH Inpatient and Crisis)

You said: Staff treated me without care or compassion.
We did: The hospital site is undertaking work on creating a culture of care on all wards.  (AMH Inpatient and Crisis)

You said: I did not understand the care pathway my child was on or who the various people involved in her care where.
We did: The team has produced a leaflet that outlines who's who in a patient's care and the aims and possible outcomes of inpatient admissions.  (Children, Young People and Families)

You said: I was struggling to support my partner and there was no advice or support available to me.
We did: The Peer Support Worker will screen all referrals into the team so they are aware of when family or carers of patients could use their input. (AMH Community)

 

Forensic Services

You said: I thought I was given the wrong medication because the tablets looked different to normal.
We did: Where possible staff will give patients' their medication in the same tablets as normal to avoid any confusion, e.g. a 6mg dose will be a 2mg and 4mg tablet. (High Secure)

You said: We are not always informed when activities are cancelled due to low staffing.
We did: The process has been reviewed for informing patients when activities must be cancelled due to low staffing. (High Secure)

You said: It took 5 months for Social Work to add a phone number to my pin.
We did: A process has been implemented to ensure items are not missed off a handover when a staff member leaves the team. (High Secure)

You said: A lot of my clothing was going missing or being damaged when going through the laundry.
We did: This has been discussed in the community meeting and a new laundry rota is being trialled. (High Secure)

 

Community Health Services

You said: My mother was left without support and information while waiting for an initial assessment.
We did: The service now make telephone contact at the point of referral to provide interim advice while patients wait for an assessment. (Urgent Care)

You said: Staff failed to notice the deteriorating physical health of my son while he was on an IDD ward.
We did: Physical health will now be checked at admission. There will be daily safety huddles to discuss patient physical health and escalate any concerns. Staff have also received training on physical health observations. (Specialist Services)

You said: My husband, and myself, were not spoken to in a compassionate way by staff.  
We did: All staff have received training on 'Kindness, Civility, and Respect'. (Urgent Care)

You said: There was no communication between the services involved in my wife's care.  
We did: There is now protected time for MDT discussions between the Trust team and an external clinic. (Specialist Services)

January 2025

Mental Health Services

You said: I was not told that my therapist would not be attending an appointment.
We did: The clinical strategic lead has reviewed the way the team inform patients of a staff absence to ensure they are made aware as soon as possible. (Community AMH)

You said: I was referred to a team out of area because I used to work in the team I should have been seen by.
We did: The service has changed their SOP to ensure that conversations are held with any staff members who may become patients, to ensure their preferences are fully considered. (Childrens, Young People and Families)

You said: My daughter was able to access a lighter on the ward because she had access to someone else's property.
We did: Lockers have been installed on the ward to better control access to patient property and risk items. (Inpatient AMH)

You said: I was left without support while my care co-ordinator was off work.
We did: The team now review the caseloads of staff members who are off work for extended periods to ensure patients are not left without support. (Community AMH)

 

Forensic Services

You said: Doors banging on the ward kept me awake throughout the night.
We did: The ward manager reminded night staff about keeping the doors on the ward closed to reduce noise disturbance. (High Secure)

You said: I missed an MRI appointment as staff claimed they didn't know the time of the appointment.
We did: The ward manager has reminded staff about preparation for off-site appointments and the need to include these in daily handovers. (High Secure)

You said: My nephew had no footwear when placed in strong safety clothing.
We did: The Restrictive Practice team are looking at commissioning suitable safety footwear. (High Secure)

You said: My wrist was harmed and swollen because the cuffs were not locked in place properly.
We did: Training is being considered for staff to ensure they know how to correctly cuff patients. (High Secure)

 

Community Health Services

You said: I was misnamed and misgendered by a staff member.
We did: The patient record operating procedures and staff training have been updated to make clear where staff should seek patient details. (Specialist Services)

You said: My child's prescription was changed based on a telephone assessment.
We did: The service will be offering more options for appointments so that families can follow their preferences, including having a face-to-face assessment. (Children, Families and Specialist Services)

You said: I received inaccurate and conflicting information about my family member's discharge.
We did: Discharge co-ordinators are now allocated to specific wards so they can build relationships and provide clear communication to patients, family and carers. (Urgent Care)

You said: I received a standardised letter following the care team's sessions with my child. This was not helpful to our family.
We did: The process has been improved to make the letters more personalised and where helpful families will be offered an additional session on how to support the patient. (Children, Families and Specialist Services)

October 2024

Mental Health Services

You said: “While on the ward I received inconsistent care depending on who was working.”
We did: Inpatient services are changing to a consistent model of care delivery. All patients will be allocated a worker for each shift with responsibility for the patient’s care. (AMH)

You said: “I was discharged because I was not supported to fully engage in the sessions.”
We did: The service operational manual now has an updated process on reviewing engagement as part of the engagement agreement. (AMH)

You said: “My child’s clinician did not provide enough information for the EHC assessment.”
We did: The complaint was anonymously discussed in a team meeting to reaffirm the expectations and standards when contributing to an EHC assessment. (CAMHS)

You said: “There were a limited number of activities available on the ward.”
We did: The environment co-ordinators are developing an evolving list of activity options. (AMH)

 

Forensic Services

You said: “My laundry was taken by another patient.”
We did: The ward manager has implemented an updated procedure for managing patient access to laundry. (High Secure)

You said: “I was unable to access fresh air as there were not enough staff on the ward.”
We did: The issue of fresh air will be discussed in community meetings so that the issue can be monitored. (High Secure)

You said: “There was a delay of two hours between me requesting medication and being provided with it as the night shift left the issue for the day shift to deal with.”
We did: The ward manager reminded staff of the importance of ensuring requests for medication are handed over to the next shift to prevent delays caused by shift changes. (High Secure)

You said: “My planned family visit was cancelled due to staffing shortages.”
We did: The availability of visits has been reduced to ensure that any visits that are booked will not be cancelled due to staffing levels. (High Secure)

 

Community Health Services

You said: “There were delays in my child’s care due to the complex systems between multiple services.”
We did: The Family Hubs initiative is being trialled. This is a collaboration of agencies working to improve communication and more efficiently refer patients to the most appropriate services. (Children, Families and Specialist Services)

You said: “My father was sent to the acute hospital without an escort.”
We did: The service now has a process in place that ensures all patients either have a confirmed plan with a family member or else they will be provided with a nurse escort. (Urgent Care)

You said: “I was not updated when my mother was transferred to hospital during the night.”
We did: At admission the team will take family communication preferences, including when they would like to receive updates and who would be best to contact. (Urgent Care)

You said: “I was not updated on my mother’s care while my sister, the listed contact, was away.”
We did: Staff have been asked to contact the patient’s GP for family contact information when there are no suitable contact details on the patient record. (Urgent Care)

July 2024

Mental Health Services

You said: “My assessment for ASD appeared inadequate as they just asked my family questions.”
We did: A guide has been produced for service users so they know what to expect from the assessment process. (SSD)

You said: “My child was not seen by a mental health worker when we went to A&E.”
We did: There are now mental health liaison staff available 24/7 for young people in A&E. (CAMHS)

You said: “A patient shared positive feedback about some staff members.”
We did: The staff members identified as showing good practice have been buddied with new starters so that they can model compassionate care. (AMH)

You said: “Staff did not know how to work with my child due to their ASD needs.”
We did: The service now has specialist practitioners to work with young people with ASD. They will also train and support the wider team. (CAMHS)

 

Forensic Services

You said: “I was not restrained in a safe or appropriate way.”
We did: Patient debriefs will be offered after restraint incidents. (High Secure)

You said: “The ward was unsafe because the ward team did not meet the minimum number of staff required in the day room.”
We did: The ward has created an integrated planner so staff are always aware of the patient and staff numbers in the dayroom. (High Secure)

You said: “I was worried about my privacy when male staff tried to complete my observations while I was in the shower.”
We did: Patients have been provided with an ‘I’m in the shower’ poster that they can put on their door. This will alert staff and allow them to seek a female staff member for the observations. (High Secure)

You said: “When I was in seclusion staff did not provide me with any toilet roll when I asked.”
We did: The issue was highlighted with staff, who were reminded of patients’ rights. (Low Secure)

 

Community Health Services

You said: “I struggled to contact the team I needed as I had to go through an admin hub.”
We did: The service has revised their leaflets to include details on how to contact the service directly. (Proactive and Planned Care)

You said: “My visits kept being deferred as there were not enough staff.”
We did: The team now have a Shift Lead to co-ordinate the shift and liaise with patients when visits need to be deferred. (Proactive and Planned Care)

You said: “My father’s referral was not treated as a priority. He had several falls while waiting for support.”
We did: New triage guidelines have been published. Staff will be trained on these guidelines to ensure they triage referrals effectively. (Urgent Care)

You said: “There were several issues with the care and communication provided by my uncle’s inpatient team.”
We did: Initial assessments are undertaken within 24-48 hours so a clear plan can be made with patients and families. Written information is shared with patients and families on the reason for admission and process that will be followed. (Urgent Care)

April 2024

Mental Health Services

You said: “There were not enough good activities to do while on the ward.”
We did: The ward now works with patients to include their ideas on the activity timetable. (AMH)

You said: “I was not made aware that my son had been made an informal patient. My family were not included in this decision.”
We did: Training has been arranged for ward staff on the importance of carer input and support. (AMH)

You said: “I was not informed that support for my child’s ADHD needed to be looked at by the GP.”
We did: The team have developed an information booklet on how to access support for children with ADHD. This will be shared with families when needed. (CAMHS)

You said: “The self-referral for my daughter was not reviewed for six days.”
We did: The service now have a daily allocated clinician who screens all referrals on the day they are received. (CAMHS)

 

Forensic Services

You said: “I was not given meals that suited my vegan diet.”
We did: A dietician gave the catering team training on vegan meals. (Medium Secure)

You said: “Staff were leaving my light on after completing nighttime observations.”
We did: The ward has placed signs outside every room as a reminder for staff to turn the light off after completing the observation. (High Secure)

You said: “I was assaulted by another patient as the dining room was unsupervised while staff were elsewhere.”
We did: The team will develop a Standard Operating Procedure to compartmentalise the ward when short staffed. (High Secure)

You said: “There was a lack of activities and structure on the ward.”
We did: Staff and patients are working together to develop an achievable activity timetable. (High Secure)

 

Community Health Services

You said: “The district nurse was rude to me when she came to change my dressings.”
We did: Staff have undertaken the ‘Fifteen Steps Challenge’ to re-focus on what a ‘good visit’ looks like to a patient. (Proactive and Planned Care)

You said: “My vulnerable mother was not visited because no staff member was allocated to her appointment.”
We did: A new system has been introduced which automatically allocates a worker to each visit. (Urgent Care)

You said: “My mother fractured her leg after falling on the ward.”
We did: The ward has introduced a new process for ensuring risk assessments are completed weekly. (Urgent Care)

You said: “There was a delay in receiving continence pads because the care home did not know how to liaise with the continence service.”
We did: There is a new system in place for how the continence service works with care homes. A conference was held to increase care homes knowledge of the process. (Proactive and Planned Care)

January 2024

Mental Health Services

You said: “I was not aware if my self-referral had been accepted or whether I had been added to a wait list for treatment.” 
We did: There is now an automated response to confirm a self-referral has been accepted and is being considered. Each team also has a welcome pack which includes a referral acceptance letter that explains the next steps.  (CAMHS)

You said: “I had several concerns with the lack of communication and support from the LMHT Duty team.”
We did: The Duty system across community teams is being reviewed by senior management to improve its effectiveness. (AMH)

You said: “The service declined my referral despite not having a set referral criteria.”
We did: The service have developed a set of referral criteria which have been publicised on their website.  (CAMHS)

You said: “My complex needs were not supported as I moved between mental health services.”
We did: There is now a transitions team in place to support patients with neurodiversity as they transition between services. (AMH)

 

Forensic Services

You said: “I was not given a seclusion care plan or exit plan when in seclusion.”
We did: There is an ongoing Quality Improvement Project across the hospital to improve how seclusions are managed by staff. (High Secure)

You said: “Staff were not aware of the need to contact Advocacy to support me in seclusion.”
We did: Ward teams have been reminded of the need to contact Advocacy when a patient is placed in seclusion. Advocacy leaflets have also been included in seclusion packs. (High Secure)

You said: “I was restrained despite me not resisting.”
We did: The Positive and Safe Violence Reduction team have a new training package on de-escalating situations using verbal communication. (Medium Secure)

You said: “I was not made aware why my psychology appointments were cancelled.”
We did: The team have developed a new system for letting patients know about staff absences when these affect appointments. (High Secure)

 

Community Health Services

You said: “The district nurses were not able to manage my mother’s pressure sore, so it grew worse.”
We did: Staff have received training on pressure sore identification, management, and treatment. Policy has also been reviewed to ensure it is in line with NICE guidance. (Proactive and Planned Care)

You said: “There was a delay to my appointment because my referral was not correctly triaged.”
We did: A new streamlined triage system has been introduced along with a new Standard Operating Procedure. (Proactive and Planned Care)

You said: “My family had no idea what to expect from our loved ones’ end of life care.” 
We did: The service now has a leaflet with information on end of life care which will be shared with family members. (Proactive and Planned Care)

You said: “The team did not consistently reply to the concerns that I raised with staff.” 
We did: The care unit have developed a local process to ensure all staff are aware of what to do when concerns are raised with them. (Children, Families and Specialist Services)

 

 

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