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.

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Original feedback for

Ashcroft Unit


see psychiatrist every 4 months, no more help

My psychiatrist is based at Ashcroft with Older Adults team. Initially after I saw him, I was visited every 2 weeks by CPN. After a year, my mental health was improving, and the visits stopped. Two years later I asked for support again, but could only get it once a month! Decided there was no point. This year I agreed with psychiatrist to change medication, but I am feeling extremely anxious waiting for the new one to work, and can get NO help, only allowed to see psychiatrist once every four months. Receptionist said they no longer had staff to do this, and she agreed that the situation could be painful for service users.