CPFT Complaints Service

Complaints

The Complaints Team provides a service for people who wish to make a formal complaint about the services provided by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT). The services provided by CPFT include mental health, learning disability, social care and community services for adult and older people, child and adolescent mental health services across Cambridgeshire, and children's community services in Peterborough.

CPFT encourages feedback and complaints about the services we provide. It is important for CPFT to learn from complaints and make any necessary changes to improve the quality of our services.

Making a complaint

If you wish to make a complaint about the care or treatment provided to you or someone you know, please do not hesitate to contact our Complaints Team using the form below. The above form ensures that we capture all of the data necessary to progress your complaint without delay. 

We understand that people may be angry, distressed or frustrated when raising concerns. However, we ask that all communication remains respectful and constructive. We will not accept behaviour that is hostile, insulting, derogatory, demeaning, discriminatory, threatening or otherwise disrespectful towards our staff. Mutual respect helps us investigate concerns fairly, thoroughly and efficiently.

You may wish to draft your complaint yourself rather than relying on artificial intelligence (AI) tools. While AI can help structure information, it may also generate inaccurate, exaggerated, misleading or irrelevant content, omit important details, or present assumptions as fact. Complaints generated wholly or partly by AI may therefore not accurately reflect your experience and can make it more difficult for us to understand the issues you wish to raise and investigate. 

If you do use AI, we recommend that you carefully review and amend the content to ensure it is accurate and succinct, and genuinely reflects your own concerns before submitting it to the Trust. The following information may be helpful for you if you are using Ai to generate your complaint. 

Useful prompts for Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to help with your complaint

The AI prompts below may help you to fill out our complaint form. A prompt is a question or instruction that you type into an AI tool to tell it what you want help with. 

You should remove any personal information that could identify you, such as your full name or NHS number, and use placeholders instead while you are drafting the complaint, such as [the nurse] or [my advocate]. You can then add your personal details directly to the complaint form without having to share it with the AI tool.

Prompt suggestion 1:

I need to clearly explain what happened on [date] when [describe the situation]. Here are the details: [provide all the facts and circumstances]. Help me organise these into a clear structure that shows what happened first, second, third and so on.

Prompt suggestion 2:

I need help organising this information about what the organisation did wrong: [list all the specific issues]. Please help me put this into clear sentences. Focus on the facts of what actually happened and do not make any assumptions.

Prompt suggestion 3:

Help me describe what happened in simple, clear language: [describe each issue in detail, including who was involved, what they said or did, and when it happened]. Help me express this clearly while keeping it in my own voice.

Prompt suggestion 4:

Help me explain how this affected my daily life and how it made me feel. Here's what happened to me: [describe specific impacts on your health, work, family, finances or emotions. Explain how long problems lasted, what you couldn’t do and any on-going effects]. Make sure each impact is connected to what went wrong.

Prompt suggestion 5:

Rewrite the text below as a clear, polite complaint. Use only the information I have provided. Do not add or invent new facts. Be concise and professional, but not too formal. Include a closing paragraph suggesting how I would like the complaint to be resolved.

Submitting your complaint 

Using the form below means that the Complaint's team has all of the information required to progress your complaint. This avoids the team having to subsequently request further information from you which will result in delays in investigating your complaint.

Contact the team by completing this form.

 

If you are making a complaint and require assistance, you can access free and independent NHS Complaints Advocacy. In Cambridgeshire, this service is provided by POhWER. POhWER delivers information, advice, support and advocacy services throughout England. They aim to support people who face difficult issues and want to make their voice heard. All POhWER's services are free, independent and confidential.
 
Referrals: www.pohwer.net/make-a-referral
Telephone: 0300 456 2370 (charged at your standard network rate).
Minicom: 0300 456 2364.
Text: send the word ’pohwer’ with your name and number to 81025.

Alternatively, you can call the team on freephone 0800 052 1411 or 01223 219440, leaving your name and number and a short message.  

Or by post to:

Complaints Team
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Elizabeth House
Fulbourn Hospital
Fulbourn
Cambridge
CB21 5EF

If your concerns need to be resolved immediately, please contact the team directly or get in touch with our Patient Advice and Liaison Service. Further information about this service can be found through this  link. 

A leaflet about how to make a complaint can be found at the bottom of this page. The Complaints, Concerns and Compliments Policy can be found through this link.

Advocacy

If you wish to be supported through the complaints process there are various advocacy services that are able to help you.

If you are still unhappy

If you feel that after making your complaint and receiving your response letter your concerns have not been addressed, please contact the Complaints Team who will listen to your concerns and offer further advice.

If you remain unhappy and feel your concerns have not been addressed, you can contact the relevant Ombudsman to investigation your complaint independently.

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London, SW1P 4QP
T 0845 015 4033
www.ombudsman.org.uk

 

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry, CV4 0EH
T 0300 061 0614
www.lgo.org.uk

Further information