Right to Respond

As part of our commitment to providing an honest and transparent view of health and social care services, Healthwatch Birmingham & Solihull 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

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham


Appalling care of the elderly

My elderly relative was admitted with dehydration, they were put in a side room and left by staff. They did not even have a call buzzer/alarm to call for help if needed. It took me over an hour and a half to get a jug of water brought to them when I arrived to visit. The healthcare was terrible and the attitudes of members of staff were appalling too. Communication from nurses and doctors was poor and there did not seem to be anyone coordinating the healthcare of my relative. Standards have really dropped maybe in part due to them being very understaffed but there is no excuse for poor care of patients. The discharge process was appalling, telling elderly patients that they were fit to go home but not explaining that care packages needed to be put into place which can take 24 hours or more.