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

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Original feedback for

NHS 111


Waste of time and unreliable

My Brother told me to phone 111 first as he was in chronic pain with his kidney, I am a carer to my Mother who has Alzheimer's and Bedridden so can't be left. My Brother was doubled up with pain ,they said they have assessed him and told him to get to A&E within the next hour he told them of his situation he couldn't drive with pain and I couldn't take him "hence "couldn't leave Mom he said any chance of a Ambulance and they said No you will have to make your own way get a taxi it was 4 .00 am in the morning and we couldn't get hold of a taxi fortunately we managed to wake up my other Brother who lives 1/2 hour away he took my Brother to the hospital screaming in pain and left him at the hospital unable to go in with him my other Brother had to leave him we understand because of Covid but when my sick Brother was being transferred from one hospital to another by Ambulance the driver was appalled to hear what 111 had told him he said there would have been an Ambulance available and My Brother ended up having a serious operation on his kidney luckily he got to A&E in time to be given temporary treatment but it could have been far more serious because 111 would not Authorise an Ambulance. In future I personally will not be using this service as I found it to be a waste of time not only the Ambulance problem but the time it took for a qualified Nurse to ring us to tell us what we already knew ! Waste of time and unreliable. Further more the Ambulance driver doing hospital transfer told my Brother its a disgrace because at the time they told my Brother there wasn't a Ambulance available that Ambulance driver was called out to someone who had a headache not a serious kidney problem.