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What is a complaint?
A complaint is a way of telling a person or a service your concerns about something that has happened to you or how someone has treated you.
You can also use complaints to resolve problems that are currently happening with your care and treatment.
Making a complaint can feel difficult and scary, especially when you've never done it before. But you deserve to have your voice heard.
This page answers some of common questions about complaints to help you understand the basics.
I'm ready to make a complaint
If you already know what complaints mean and what they are for, find out what happens after making a complaint.
Making a complaint wasn't always easy, and sometimes didn't have the outcome I hoped for, but I'm always glad I made the complaint – Saffron
Why might I want to make a complaint?
You should get the help and support you need, when you need it. People who work in mental health or social care services should always treat you in a way that makes you feel heard and respected – but we know this doesn't always happen.
If you feel like something's wrong with the care you've received or the way someone has treated you, you have the right to make a complaint about it.
Complaints can help us in different ways. Making a complaint might achieve 1 or more of these outcomes:
- Resolves the problem you've experienced and makes sure it doesn't happen to you again
- Gets you an apology for the problem you've experienced
- Gets you ‘financial compensation’ to help with what you've been through – this means you will get some money as part of the apology
- Lets a service know that they have a problem so they can change, improve and make sure nobody else will experience this in the future
Example 1
Hassan is getting support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). He's had 5 different care co-ordinators over the last 18 months, and sometimes he hasn't had a care co-ordinator at all. It's really hard for him to keep telling his story to new people and he doesn't feel like he's getting the support he needs.
Hassan wants to get the right support and feel confident that the service is properly managing his care, so he decides to make a complaint about CAMHS.
Example 2
Andi has lived in care before, but they're currently living with foster parents. However, they want to live with their older brother. Andi's social worker doesn't listen to their views on where they want to live, and seems to ignore what they want to do.
Andi is worried that this could affect where they end up living, so they decide to make a complaint to the local authority about their social worker.
Example 3
Kate is in hospital for her mental health as an informal patient. She is worried about the attitude of some of the ward staff. Kate doesn't feel that they understand, respect and accept what it's like for her as an autistic young person, or how the ward environment affects her.
Kate wants the ward's policies and practices to improve, so she decides to make a complaint about her experience of inpatient care.
Every experience is valid – Saffron
When should I make my complaint?
Generally, if you want to make a complaint about something, you should do this no later than 12 months after it happened.
If it happened more than 12 months ago, you might still be able to make the complaint if these 2 reasons both apply:
- It's still possible to investigate your complaint properly. For example, there are good records of what happened.
- You have a good reason for the delay. For example, you were very unwell and weren't able to make the complaint.
Can a service refuse to investigate my complaint?
You have a right to make a complaint and have your complaint investigated. However, a service does not have to investigate your complaint if:
- You complain informally and the service helps you resolve it in a way you're happy with
- You make your complaint later than 12 months after the thing you're complaining about
- Your complaint has already been investigated and you make a new complaint about the exact same thing in the same service
Making my complaint made me feel like I've done the right thing. My point is – it's not a waste of time, no matter what – Saffron
What if I change my mind about making a complaint?
You can change your mind about making a complaint at any time. If you no longer want to make your complaint, you should directly tell the service you're complaining about.
If the service is very concerned about the things in your complaint, they might continue to investigate it themselves. In this case, you probably won't need to be involved.
What happens when I make a complaint?
For your next step, find out about the process of making a complaint about health or social care.
Rights
Rights generally exist to protect and help us. If you have a right or the rights to something in everyday life, it means you're entitled to have it or do it. Our rights are often set out in laws, like the Equality Act 2010. Sometimes, rights might be set out in other policies and guidelines.
Some rights can never lawfully be taken away from us. However, sometimes another law can interfere with or restrict our rights, like if we are arrested or sectioned.
For more information, see our page on your rights.
Visit our full treatment and support glossaryChild and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
These are services that support young people with their mental health.
You might see them called different names sometimes, but they offer the same type of services for young people:
- In Wales, they're called Specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (SCAMHS)
- In England or Wales, you might also hear them called Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS)
Find out more in our CAMHS information hub.
Care co-ordinator
This is your main point of contact if you’re having ongoing treatment and support for your mental health. They should keep in close contact with you and answer any questions you may have.
Visit our full treatment and support glossaryLocal authority
This is the local government for an area. It provides services for the people who live or are staying in the area. These include health services, social services, schools, transport and housing.
Each local government can decide how services are run. This means that some services in different areas may have different rules.
Visit our full treatment and support glossaryInformal patient
This is another phrase for voluntary patient. It means that you, or someone who looks after you, agree for you to stay in hospital to get treatment and support for your mental health.
See our page on being an informal patient for more information.
Visit our full treatment and support glossaryWard
This describes the area of the hospital you're staying in. You may also hear it called a unit.
Visit our full treatment and support glossaryPolicy
This is a document that sets out how an organisation will act in certain situations. For example, a transition policy should explain how an organisation will manage a young person leaving their services.
Visit our full treatment and support glossaryInpatient care
This is the care you get when you’re staying in hospital. You might be an informal patient or you might be sectioned. You might also be having treatment and support for your physical health.
See our pages on being an informal patient or being sectioned for more information.
Visit our full treatment and support glossaryThis information was published in July 2024. We will revise it in 2027.
The quotes on this page are from young people we spoke to while making this information. They've given us their consent to use their quotes in our information. The words, experiences and opinions in the quotes are not related to the young people shown in any of the photographs we use.
References are available on request. If you would like to reproduce any of this information, see our page on permissions and licensing.
