How to make a complaint about a doctor

Step 1: Raise it with the practice or trust first

For most concerns the first step is to raise them with the practice, hospital, or trust where the doctor works. Every NHS trust has a Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) that can help you raise a concern informally. GP practices have their own complaints procedure, usually run by the practice manager. Private hospitals and clinics have their own complaints process; they should give you a written copy on request.

Local complaints are usually the fastest way to get a meaningful response and are often the only way to get a clinical correction (such as a follow-up appointment, an apology, or a change in your treatment plan).

Step 2: NHS complaints and the Ombudsman

If you are not satisfied with the trust's response — or if you feel the trust is not handling it well — you can escalate to NHS England (for primary care) or the integrated care board, and ultimately to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (in England). Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own ombudsman services. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about NHS services that have not been resolved at local level.

The Ombudsman cannot impose sanctions on individual doctors, but their findings can lead to improvements in services and to recommendations for changes in practice.

Step 3: Refer to the GMC

If you believe the doctor's conduct or fitness to practise is at issue — not just the quality of one episode of care, but a question about whether they should be allowed to practise at all — you can refer them to the GMC. The GMC handles concerns about: dishonesty, sexual misconduct, criminal convictions, serious or repeated clinical failings, and health problems that affect ability to practise.

The GMC's referral form is on its website (link below). You do not need a lawyer or any special form of words. You should describe what happened, when, and where, and provide any documents you have. The GMC may take several months to review a concern and may not investigate every referral; their threshold for investigation is whether the concern, if proved, would call into question the doctor's fitness to practise.

When to call 999

If you believe a doctor (or anyone else) poses an immediate risk to a patient — for example, you believe they are about to provide unsafe treatment, or they are working under the influence of drink or drugs — call 999 and ask for the police. Do not delay raising an immediate safety concern through the slower complaints route.