Complaints

We aim to provide safe, high-quality care and treatment for everyone who uses our services. However, we recognise that sometimes things do not go as expected. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the care, treatment or service you have received, we want to hear from you.

Before making a formal complaint, we encourage you to speak to the team involved or contact PALS, as many concerns can be resolved quickly and informally. However, If you are unhappy with the care, treatment or service you have received and would like us to formally investigate your concerns, you can make a complaint.

We take complaints seriously and recognise the important role they play in helping us improve our services. We are committed to handling complaints fairly, openly and compassionately.

A complaint can help us:

  • understand what happened and investigate your concerns
  • provide explanations and answers
  • acknowledge where things may have gone wrong and apologise where appropriate
  • identify learning and improvements for the future

The complaints process is not:

  • a disciplinary process for individual members of staff
  • a route to financial compensation
  • a legal or negligence investigation
  • a substitute for professional regulatory processes

Use of AI statement

Some people choose to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, Copilot or other writing assistants, to help organise their thoughts or draft correspondence. While these tools can be helpful, they do not know your personal experience and the information they produce may not always be accurate or relevant.

AI-generated complaints can sometimes become overly complex, include information that is not relevant to the issues being raised, or contain legal language that does not help us understand what happened. This can make it more difficult for us to identify and address your concerns. If you choose to use AI to help prepare your complaint please consider the information and useful prompts provided by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

Ways to submit your complaint

We encourage you to submit your complaint using our online complaint form.

If you cannot use the online form, you can download a printable complaint form or ask us to send one to you in the post.

If you are returning a completed form by post, please send it to:

Feedback and Engagement Team
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
Bowyer Building
Torbay Hospital
Lowes Bridge
Torquay TQ2 7AA

Please note: This is a postal address only and not open for drop-in visits.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

If you are raising a complaint for a relative, friend, or someone you care for, we need their written consent before we can share their personal health information with you.

If the person is unable to give consent or has passed away, we must check that you have legal authority to access their personal information. While we appreciate this can be a difficult time, our legal duty of confidentiality to our patients continues. Without the required consent, the details we can share in our response will be limited.

If you have any questions or need assistance completing this form, please contact our Feedback and Engagement Team on 01803 655838

    Complaint form

    We value your feedback and are committed to addressing your concerns thoroughly. Please provide as much detail as possible to help us understand your experience and how we can resolve your concerns.

    Who is making this complaint?

    Please tell us whether you are making this complaint for yourself or on behalf of someone else. Please select one option.

    Communication preferences for initial contact

    As part of the complaints process, we may need to contact the person completing this form.

    Please select at least one contact method. We may be unable to investigate or respond to your complaint if we cannot contact you.

    Please select all that apply (required)

    Details of the person this complaint relates to

    Please provide the details of the person whose care, treatment or support this complaint relates to.

    For example, large print, Easy Read or a BSL interpreter.

    Details of the person making the complaint

    Please provide your details below. We may need this information to confirm your authority to act on behalf of the person this complaint relates to.

    Formal consent may need to be provided before we can share information with you.

    For example, large print, Easy Read or a BSL interpreter.

    Details of your concern

    For example, 12/05/2026. If there was more than one incident, please provide all relevant dates.

    Please include as much detail as possible about your concern, including key dates, events and individuals involved.

    Number of characters remaining: 5000

    Questions you would like addressed

    Please outline any specific questions you would like us to address as part of the investigation.

    Desired outcomes

    What would you like to see happen as a result of raising this complaint? For example, an explanation, an apology, changes to procedures or another resolution.

    Communication preferences for the outcome stage

    Once we have investigated your complaint, please let us know how you would like to receive the outcome.

    Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with us.

    We will review the information you have provided and contact you if we need any further details. We are committed to investigating concerns thoroughly, fairly and compassionately.