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

Heartlands Hospital


Dangerous and short staffed

A lot of the nurses are caring but my mum has been left for weeks after telling the hospital she couldn't see properly. Because of that she has permanently lost the sight in one eye. She has also had her asthma ignored to the point of danger. I've been repeatedly told "that's not the main problem we're concerned about her kidneys". She was left without an inhaler for weeks and only given it by us but not enough because we aren't there long enough to do her morning and night. She'd had a stroke and they didn't realise and she's now blind in one eye. The good part is that when she finally got to the right ward nearly dead, they gave her dialysis and that saved her life. They are so short staffed that family have to move patients and give medication they have been given to give to a barely conscious patient. Also when she arrived dangerously ill she had to wait outside A&E in an ambulance for 6 hours.