The health ombudsman: when and how to use it
You cannot start here. The ombudsman looks at a complaint only after the NHS organisation has answered it, or has failed to answer in a reasonable time.
Before you apply
- Your written complaint to the trust or integrated care board, and its final response.
- Dates: when things happened, when you complained, when you got a reply.
- What you want put right. The ombudsman asks this directly.
- Usually within a year of the final response.
What it can decide
- Whether there was maladministration or service failure: a wait handled wrongly, a referral lost, a complaint ignored.
- Whether it caused injustice to you.
- What should be done: an apology, an explanation, a change in procedure, or a payment to recognise the impact.
How to apply
Online at the ombudsman's website, or by phone. Keep it factual: what happened, what you complained about, what the response said, why you are still dissatisfied, and what you want. Attach the correspondence. You can ask a free NHS complaints advocate to help with the form.
If you have not complained yet
Start with the hospital. The steps, with a letter to adapt, are in how to complain about an NHS waiting time.
Sources: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman; the Local Authority Social Services and NHS Complaints (England) Regulations 2009. Last checked 14 October 2026. Not legal advice.