What if I’m unhappy with the treatment?

It may be that the treatment is not the best one for you. But before you decide to stop, talk to the practitioner and explain what you did not like and why. Feedback from you is important in helping a practitioner decide how to treat you. They may be able to adapt the treatment if you discuss your concerns.

The professional relationship between you and your practitioner is very important in getting the best out of your treatment. Relationships don’t always work. If you feel that you can’t work well with a practitioner, it is best to go somewhere else for treatment.

However, if the reason you did not get on with the practitioner was because you were not happy about their behaviour towards you, you may want to do something about it. WITNESS: against abuse by health and care workers, a national charity which assists people who have concerns about abusive health professionals, says that 'when a professional takes advantage of their client or patient's trust, does not act in their best interests and fails to keep professional boundaries, the practitioner’s behaviour can be called professional abuse.'

Reputable complementary healthcare practitioners should not tell you to stop seeing your doctor or another complementary practitioner, or to stop taking any medication prescribed by your doctor. Any decisions you take should be yours, made after thinking about the issues and with full information. You should feel happy with the decisions you make about your treatment. If you are not happy, you could talk it over with a friend and, if you can, with the practitioner. If you still feel they are trying to get you to do things you have doubts about, you should stop seeing them. You may decide you want to take the matter further.

In many cases, when you are not satisfied with your treatment, you can sort it out informally by talking with the practitioner and other relevant people. Who you can talk to and what they are able to do depends on whether the practitioner is employed by the NHS and whether they are regulated by law or not.

Where you have serious concerns about your practitioner’s behaviour towards you, you may wish to speak with someone other than the practitioner. You can speak with your doctor, the NHS complementary healthcare service manager, if relevant, the practitioner’s regulatory body or the professional organisation they are registered with. You may also wish to contact WITNESS.

If you find that talking it through has not been enough you may decide to make a formal complaint. You should be aware that making a complaint can be stressful or distressing, depending on the reason why you are complaining. It is, therefore, very helpful to have someone who can support you during the process.

If the practitioner you see is employed by the NHS and you have been referred to them by your GP or another doctor, you should make sure that you raise your concerns with the doctor and/or the manager of the complementary healthcare service, if there is one. If your GP sends you for treatment to a complementary practitioner who is not statutorily regulated, the GP is still responsible for your treatment so you should always discuss any concerns with your GP.

Other people in the NHS who might be able to help are:

• NHS trust patient and advice liaison (PAL) officer (England)
• Trust or local health board complaints manager (Wales)
• Trust or health board patient liaison or complaints officer (Scotland)
• Local health and social services board (Northern Ireland)
  

If you don’t feel that talking it over has been enough and you decide to make a complaint you can do so using the local NHS complaints procedure.

Making a complaint

Your GP; the practice manager; the manager of the complementary therapy service; the local health board or trust patient liaison officer or complaints manager; or, in England, the NHS Trust Patient and Advice Liaison service (PALs) should be able to give you information about how to do this. You can also get information about how to make a complaint from the places below.

England

For information on how to complain about NHS treatment in England visit BBC Action Network.

To find your local NHS trust in England phone NHS Direct on 0845 4647 or visit the NHS website.

Scotland

Information on how to complain about NHS medical treatment in Scotland can be found at BBC Action Network.

You can also contact your NHS board’s patient liaison officer or complaints officer on the NHS Scotland Helpline 0800 224488. To find your local NHS board phone NHS 24 on 08454 242424 or visit Scotland's Health on the Web.

Wales

For information on how to complain about NHS treatment in Wales phone NHS Direct Wales on 0845 4647 or visit BBC Action Network.

You can find your local health board or trust by telephoning NHS Direct Wales or at NHS Direct Wales .

Northern Ireland

The local health and social services boards can give information on how to complain about NHS services in Northern Ireland. You can get contact details for your local board by asking at your GP’s surgery or visiting The Northern Ireland Health and Social Services Board.

You can also find out how to make a complaint at the Central Services Agency website or at BBC Action Network.

Help with making a complaint through the NHS.

Sometimes making a complaint may not feel straightforward and you may need help or support.

Help from inside the NHS

To make a complaint in England contact the Patient Advice and Liaison services (PALs), based in NHS trusts, give advice and support to patients, carers and their families and can help. Call phoning NHS Direct on 0845 4647 or visit the Department of Health website.

In Scotland NHS boards have patient liaison or complaints officers who can help.

Help from outside the NHS

If your complaint is about an NHS service, your local independent complaints advocacy service (ICAS) will be able to help you. You can find your local advocacy service by contacting NHS Direct in England on 0845 4647.

• There is also a list of the independent complaints advocacy services in England on the complaints policy section of the Department of Health website.
• In Wales the local community health council runs the independent complaints advocacy service. You can find your local community health council at the Board of Community Health Councils in Wales, or by telephoning 0845 644 7814.
• In Scotland the Scottish Health Council offer support to people making complaints. To find out how to contact your local branch, telephone NHS 24 on 08454 242424 or look on the website   http://www.scottishhealthcouncil.org/shcp/shcp_display.jsp?pContentID=779&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&
• In Northern Ireland the local health and social services councils give advice and support on making a complaint. You can find your local council on the Northern Ireland NHS website.
• The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux website has information about how to complain about NHS services in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

If the practitioner is regulated by law and talking with them has not helped, or you don’t feel you can do that, you can talk to someone at their regulatory body about your concerns. It may be that the matter can be sorted out in this way. If not, the regulatory body will have a complaints procedure and there may also be a local complaints procedure at the practitioner’s clinic. These should be available for you to see but if you prefer not to talk directly to the practitioner you can get a copy from the regulatory body.

Sometimes the complaints procedure is available on the regulatory body’s website. If not, you will have to telephone them or write to them for a copy. You will need to make the complaint in writing and include as much relevant information as possible. The regulatory body should give you advice about making a complaint. Practitioners who are found unfit to practise by their regulatory body may be taken off that body’s register.

The practitioner should have insurance so that if you have been hurt or injured by treatment, or by an accident in the clinic, you should be able to get compensation if the practitioner or the clinic is responsible.

If the practitioner is not regulated by law and talking with them has not helped, or you don’t feel you can do that, the steps you can take depend on the standards of the professional association the practitioner is registered with.

Many of the professional associations that register practitioners of therapies not regulated by law do have complaints procedures that are easily available, either through the practitioner or directly from the association and do require their practitioners to have professional indemnity insurance. Some will also be prepared to listen to your concerns before you make a complaint and give you information about how to make a complaint.

However, as explained in Standards and safety, standards can vary so you may find that not all professional associations have appropriate complaints procedures or will help you make a complaint. This is one reason we suggest you Speak to the practitioner before going for treatment; you could also ask whether the practitioner has available a complaints procedure from the association they are registered with.

If you do make a complaint, you will need to do it in writing and include as much relevant information as possible. Practitioners who are found unfit to practise by their professional association may be taken off that association’s register, but they could still practise or join another association.

If you see a practitioner who is not a member of a professional association you will not be able to talk to, or complain to, a professional association if things go wrong. If the practitioner is not insured and you are hurt or injured by treatment or by an accident on the practitioner’s premises, you will be unlikely to get any compensation.

If the professional association will not help you, or the practitioner does not belong to a professional association it will be very hard for you to get help if you are unhappy with your treatment.

If the practitioner’s behaviour towards you has been abusive, then WITNESS, a national charity which assists people who have concerns about abusive health professionals may be able to help.

In other cases, if the practitioner has been negligent and you have been harmed, going to court may be an option. However, this can be a difficult, expensive and stressful process and it could be very hard to prove your case. A local law centre or citizens advice bureau may be able to advise you but there is always a big demand for their services. You may also be able to get advice from Action Against Medical Accidents, a charity that helps people who have been harmed during healthcare treatment.