HOW a health trust responds to patient complaints and concerns will be under the spotlight at a free public lecture this month.

The talk, ‘Complaints and Concerns – Listening, Responding and Improving’, takes place at Macclesfield District General Hospital on Tuesday, April 14.

Starting at 7pm, it will be delivered by staff from East Cheshire NHS Trust’s Corporate Affairs and Governance Directorate, and will outline how the trust’s complaints process works and how it is used to improve and inform services.

Included will be an overview of the work of the Customer Care Team, its role in resolving issues informally through PALS (Patient Advice Liaison Service) and its work in dealing with more formal and complex complaints.

People who attend the event will also have the chance to assess examples of correspondence sent by the trust in response to complaints and provide valuable input into how the process might be improved.

Attendees’ views will also be sought on how people can be encouraged to raise concerns and provide feedback on trust services more often.

Julie Green, East Cheshire NHS Trust’s Director of Corporate Affairs and Governance, said: “This event will provide people with a valuable opportunity to help shape how we respond to complaints and concerns at East Cheshire NHS Trust.

“Every year we provide quality, safe care for thousands of people, both in hospital and community settings, but sometimes unfortunately we do not meet the standards our patients and their families expect from us.

“We take any such instances very seriously and strive to ensure lessons are learned and procedures put in place to stop the same thing from happening again. That’s why patient feedback is so important to help us continually improve the quality of our care.”

All are welcome to attend the event but places are limited, so please book in advance by contacting the Communications and Engagement Department on freephone 0800 195 4194 or email ecntstaff.comms@nhs.net.

The lecture will be held in the hospital’s Lecture Theatre, which is near the Treetops Restaurant on the first floor.

Further details about raising complaints and concerns relating to East Cheshire NHS Trust services can be found here on the trust’s website.