What to do if you have an issue with your care provider?
Note: This page is for people accessing cancer care and for general clinical issues. Please see our Trans Healthcare page for more information on public and private pathways to medically transition.
Minor Issues
For minor issues you can get in touch with the Cancer Champions team at The Rainbow Project who can provide advocacy support and information for cancer-related health inquiries.
To get in touch call 029 9031 9030 (Belfast) or 028 7128 3030 (Foyle), or you can email info@rainbow-project.org to make an enquiry.
Alternatively you can make a comment about a service on the Care Opinion website or call their freephone on 0800 122 3135. They are an independent body that will publish your comment online and share it with relevant trust staff. They are not affiliated with the HSCNI but the trust is required to respond to your comment.
You can also seek a second opinion on the NHS or with a GP.
Making a complaint with your care provider
If you have an issue with your GP or a trust provider, make sure you are contacting the right body depending on the type of complaint. Almost all complaints are required to have gone through internal complaints before another body will take them on.
You should first make a complaint by following the health providers internal complaints procedure. For your GP, they should have their policies on their website or you can ask to get in touch with the practice manager. For complaints about a trust you should get in touch with the local trust’s complaints department.
If you have an issue with a trust and want to escalate you can reach out to the Patient Client Council (PCC) for advice; or to the Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG). If you want to escalate with a GP they may have their own individual policies which they are required to provide you when they resolve a complaint.
- If you still feel your health provider’s response has been inadequate you can escalate this to the NI Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO). Alternatively, if you have faced discrimination, you may want to look at contacting the Equality Commission for their support by contacting their Discrimination Advice Officers, or advice or Legal action (see below). You cannot have an active case with the Ombudsman if you pursue legal advice, it’s an either or, so you might want to ask for advice first from PCC, SPPG or the Equality Commission. You can also get in touch with our team for support in the process.
Private Healthcare: If you have an issue with a private care provider you should first follow their internal complaints procedure. If they are commissioned to help you through the HSCNI you can also make a complaint to the local trust, and contact the SPPG. If they do not fall under a trust contract you can contact The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA). The RQIA do not have legal powers however, they will use concerns raised with them to inform inspection or reviews in future.
Note: You should keep thorough records of conversations with members of staff around your complaint process. This will make it easier for you to remember what has been discussed as often complaints procedures can take a long time to reach a resolution. Keeping a folder with all the documents can be useful to refer to weeks, or months later.
How to escalate further?
If you are still unhappy with your response, and feel there has been an element of discrimination you can contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI).
You can also seek legal advice from The Law Centre NI on through their website or their advice line on 028 9024 4401.
Phoenix Law can also offer legal consultation in discrimination cases. You can contact them through their website or through their free 24 hour line on 028 9032 8383.
