How to make a complaint and how we handle it.

How to tell us about a concern or make a complaint

We want to hear from you

The Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service (NIBTS) is committed to providing safe, high-quality services for donors, patients and other people who use our services.

We welcome complaints because they help us learn and improve. If something has gone wrong, or you are unhappy with any part of our service, please tell us.

Please do not worry about making a complaint. It will not affect the care, treatment or service you receive from NIBTS. We will listen to you and treat you fairly, respectfully and with compassion.

We use information from complaints to improve our services, prevent problems happening again and improve the experience of donors, patients and other service users.

You do not need to put your complaint in writing. You can speak to us in person or by telephone, and we will help you record your complaint if needed.

You can make a complaint using this online form.

What is a complaint?

A complaint is “any expression of dissatisfaction by one or more members of the public about any action, or lack of action, by NIBTS, or about the standard of service provided by NIBTS or on behalf of NIBTS.”

You might complain about:

a service that was not provided, or was unreasonably delayed
the quality or standard of a service
a policy, procedure, standard or administrative process not being followed properly
the conduct, attitude or behaviour of a member of staff
care, treatment or your experience as a donor or service user
a service provided by another organisation on behalf of NIBTS
a decision where there is no separate appeal process, or how a decision was administered

What is not normally dealt with as a complaint?

Some issues need to be considered under a different process. These include:

a first request for a service
a request for information under Freedom of Information or data protection legislation
an employment, staff grievance or recruitment matter
a matter that has its own appeal process
a legal claim for negligence or compensation
a request for a second opinion about care or treatment
a criminal matter or an issue already under criminal investigation
a fitness-to-practise matter for a professional regulator
a concern raised internally by a member of staff in the public interest
a Serious Adverse Incident or an independent inquiry

If the complaints procedure is not the right route, we will explain why and help direct you to the appropriate organisation or process. If another process means that your complaint must be paused, we will explain this and keep you informed.

Who can make a complaint?

You can make a complaint if you have requested or received a service from NIBTS, or if you have been directly affected by or come into contact with one of our services. This includes current and former donors and patients.

You can also complain on someone else’s behalf. We will usually need their consent before we can share personal information or provide a full response. If consent cannot be given, we will consider what information we can use and share fairly and lawfully.

How to make a complaint

You can tell us about your complaint in the way that is easiest for you:

In person Speak to the member of staff involved or ask to speak to a more senior member of staff.
Telephone Information Governance Manager: 028 9053 4682, Monday to Friday, 10.00 am to 12.00 noon and 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm.
Email complaints@nibts.hscni.net
Post Information Governance Manager, Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service, NIBTS Headquarters, Belfast City Hospital Site, Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7TS.
Online Use the online complaints form available via this link.

What information should I give?

Please give us as much information as you can. This may include:

your name and contact details
how you would prefer us to contact you
what happened, including the date and location
the service involved
the names of any staff involved, if you know them
any relevant letters, emails or other documents
what you would like us to do to put things right

If anything is unclear, we will contact you so that we can agree what your complaint is about and what outcome you are hoping for.

How long do I have to complain?

Please complain as soon as you can. You should normally complain within six months of the event. If you only became aware of the issue later, you should complain within six months of becoming aware of it, and normally no later than 12 months after the original event.

We may still consider a later complaint if there is a good reason for the delay and it is still possible to investigate it fairly.

What happens next?

Our complaints procedure has two stages. We will tell you what is happening, what you can expect next and when you should hear from us.

We will always try to resolve concerns as early as possible and may discuss possible solutions with you at any stage of the process.

Stage One: Frontline Response

We will try to resolve your complaint quickly and as close as possible to where the issue happened. We may listen to your concerns, explain what happened, apologise and take action to put things right.

We aim to respond within 5 working days. In exceptional circumstances, we may need up to 5 more working days. If this happens, we will tell you why and give you a new response date.

If you are not satisfied with the Stage One response, you can ask us to consider your complaint at Stage Two. If we have not responded within 10 working days and cannot give you a clear response date, you can also ask for your complaint to move to Stage Two.

Stage Two: Investigation

Stage Two is used when your complaint was not resolved at Stage One and you ask us to look at it again. In exceptional circumstances, a complex complaint may go directly to Stage Two if you agree.

We will:

acknowledge your Stage Two complaint within 3 working days
make sure we understand the issues you want investigated and the outcome you are seeking
arrange for someone who was not previously involved to carry out a full, objective and proportionate investigation
provide our final response as soon as possible and normally within 20 working days

If we need longer, we will explain why, give you an expected response date and keep you updated. If the investigation continues, we will contact you at least once every 20 working days.

Support to make a complaint

Please tell us if you need help to make your complaint or take part in the process. We can:

accept your complaint in a way other than writing
help you record and explain your complaint
provide information in an accessible format
arrange interpretation or translation free of charge
support communication needs
help you identify independent advocacy services or other support if you would like someone to support you during the complaints process

Privacy and confidentiality

We will handle your complaint sensitively and protect your confidentiality. We will only share information when this is needed to consider and respond to your complaint. We will handle personal information in line with data protection law and NIBTS Information Governance policies and procedures.

If you are still dissatisfied

When our Stage Two process is complete, we will tell you that you have reached the end of the NIBTS complaints procedure. If you remain dissatisfied, you can ask the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) to look at your complaint.

NIPSO is independent of NIBTS and its service is free. NIPSO generally expects you to complain within six months of receiving our letter confirming that the NIBTS complaints procedure is complete. NIPSO will generally ask for details of your complaint and a copy of our final response.

Post Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman, 33 Wellington Place, Belfast, BT1 6HN
Freephone 0800 34 34 24
Email nipso@nipso.org.uk
Website www.nipso.org.uk

Our complaints procedure follows the NIPSO Model Complaints Handling Procedure for Health and Social Care.