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

Liaison Psychiatry team - Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust


A nurse in RAID refused to assess or treat me

I was suffering severely with anxiety and insomnia after being refused help from CMHT I went to RAID at City Hospital. The nurse refused to assess me, she dismissed the fact that I was worried about my mental health and physical health through lack of sleep. I have had bad bouts like this before and had spent weeks applying for people's title plans and deeds on my street. Had started a hate campaign against neighbours who I have always got along with reporting them for moving fences and chopping a tree down. I am so horrified by my actions, but my GP, the CMHT and this nurse all failed to help me at a time that I desperately needed it. To be going through anxiety and having to beg for help to sleep is bad enough as it is, but to treated the way this nurse treated me in A and E is similar to another treatment I had in the hospital. From what I can gather she is supposed to be a mental health nurse, so she should recognise anxiety and know the risks lack of sleep would have on me. But after another terrible experience in A and E and applying for my medical records, it appears she had me down as 'clearly seeking benzos' I'm sure my bank statement and my mounds of neighbours title plans,, reports to the council and fire service will show a very different picture when. My medical history will also show that I am not a benzo seeker at all, I have had 1 prescription of diazepam in my life and 1 lorozopam and 1 diazepam in the accident and emergency dept when I have been in total despair. I'm sorry if I don't fit the picture of someone who is worthy of mental health care when I desperately need it, I'm sorry that I even need to ask for help, but this nurse along with the others mentioned above have left me feeling that I am a liar who has nothing better to do with my life than sit in accident and emergency for 1 pill to try and calm me down and go to sleep. I had been to the RAID team previously and the staff were very nice and didn't tell me they were setting boundaries as this nurse did.