Right to Respond

As part of our commitment to providing an honest and transparent view of health and social care services, Healthwatch Birmingham encourages providers to respond to comments the public have left.

Alongside ensuring providers can have a fair say in discussions about their services, replying to reviews demonstrates evidence of responding to patient feedback for the CQC, who regularly monitor our Feedback Centre. It is also an effective way to recruit service users for any wider engagement work at your organisation.

Guidelines for provider responses:

  • Keep language appropriate and civil
  • Remain professional and treat people’s comments fairly
  • Engage with the content of the review by addressing specific points and avoid cut and pasting a standard response
  • Don’t disclose the service user’s personal details or any potentially identifying information
  • Where appropriate leave organisational contact details e.g PALS or patient engagement teams for people to get further information

Remember: your response will be seen by everyone who uses the Feedback Centre, not just the original reviewer. All responses are moderated in accordance with our moderation policy.

For full terms and conditions, including a guide to how right to reply works for service providers download this guide.

Your reply

* Required fields

Original feedback for

Birmingham Womens Hospital


Very good care, but too long waiting times

When I was expecting my daughter I had to attend the ultrasound at 12 and 20 weeks. After the scan I was booked for blood test. Both times the waiting times were unbearable, and I ended up spending most day in the hospital waiting room, just waiting to be seen. It was very uncomfortable being pregnant and suffering from extreme morning sickness. For the scan I had to drink a lot of water but as the waiting time was so long, I had to use the toilet in between and then drink again a lot of water so that the scan could be successful. Because of the long waiting time and being worried that I would miss my appointment if I left, I was unable to leave the waiting room to get food, so I ended up not eating anything all day. By the time I got to the blood test at the end of the day the nurses had difficulty getting blood as they said I was so dehydrated by that point. They also told me that I wasn’t the only patient struggling with this as they book so many pregnant women it is difficult for them to deal with the demand and as a result patients are left waiting for hours. Being pregnant, feeling sick and not being able to eat, was extremely uncomfortable. On another hand, all staff were fantastic and the quality of care was excellent.