Information to help you find who you need to contact if you have a complaint or concern
As our role is to oversee the 10 health and social care regulators and accredit registers of practitioners working in unregulated health and social care roles, we cannot help with complaints or concerns about individual health/social care practitioners, but we hope the information below will help you find out who to get in touch with.
We oversee the 10 health and social care professional regulators (you can find out more about the regulators we oversee here). This means that we do not regulate individual practitioners.
We know that navigating through the maze of organisations and finding the right one to raise concerns with in health and social care, can be very difficult. There are different organisations for the four UK countries as well as different organisations responsible for regulating people, places and products.
Below we have set out some tips about who to contact if you have any concerns, or want to complain, about:
Regulated health/social care professionals
- Chiropractors
- Dentists and the dental team
- Doctors, Surgeons and Psychiatrists
- Health and Care Professions including Psychologists, Paramedics, Radiologists and Occupational Therapists
- Nurses, Midwives (and Nursing Associates in England only)
- Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians
- Osteopaths
- Pharmacists
- Social Workers
Chiropractors
You would need to get in contact with the General Chiropractic Council who regulate chiropractors in the United Kingdom. You can find their contact details using this link: https://www.gcc-uk.org/contact-us
Dentists and the dental team
If you cannot complain to the clinic or employer, get in touch with the General Dental Council (GDC) who regulate dentists and dental care professionals in the UK. You can find their contact details on https://www.gdc-uk.org/contact-us.
Doctors, Psychiatrists and Surgeons
You may need to complain to the hospital or trust where you received treatment initially, but you can also contact with the General Medical Council (GMC) https://www.gmc-uk.org/contact-us.
Health and Care Professions
You would need to get in contact with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). The HCPC regulates a number of different health/care professionals, including practitioner psychologists, paramedics, occupational therapists. Information about how to contact them is here: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/contact-us/
Nurses, Midwives and Nursing Associates
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) regulates nurses and midwives in the UK, (and nursing associates in England). You can find their contact details using the following link: https://www.nmc.org.uk/contact-us/
Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians
The General Optical Council is the statutory body responsible for the professional regulation of optometrists and dispensing opticians in the UK. You can contact them here: https://www.optical.org/en/utilities/contact_us.cfm
Osteopaths
The General Osteopathic Council regulates osteopaths in the UK. Find out how to contact them here: https://www.osteopathy.org.uk/contact-us-cysylltu-ni/
Pharmacists and the Pharmacy Team
For pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and premises in Great Britain, you will need to get int ouch with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). You can find out how to contact them here: https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/contact-us.
If the pharmacist, pharmacy or pharmacy owner is based in Northern Ireland you will need to get in touch with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) who are the regulator for pharmacists and pharmacies in Northern Ireland: https://www.psni.org.uk/psni/about/complaints-2/
Social Workers
Socials workers are regulated by different organisations in the four UK countries. WE only oversee the regulator for social workers in England – Social Work England. Their contact details can be found at https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/about/contact-us/
Other useful addresses
Local Councils
To find out how to raise complaints and concerns about your local council you can use the following link https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-your-council
NHS
As the NHS is devolved, who you need to contact will depend on where you are in the UK (or where you accessed the service). You can find out more about who to contact in:
- For England - https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/docs/default-source/publications/one-stop-guide-for-complaints/one-stop-guide-for-complaints-about-healthcare-in-england.pdf?sfvrsn=68677e20_6
- For Scotland - https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/docs/default-source/publications/one-stop-guide-for-complaints/one-stop-guide-for-complaints-about-healthcare-in-scotland.pdf?sfvrsn=6b677e20_4
- For Northern Ireland - https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/docs/default-source/publications/one-stop-guide-for-complaints/one-stop-guide-for-complaints-about-healthcare-in-northern-ireland.pdf?sfvrsn=9e647e20_6
- For Wales - https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/docs/default-source/publications/one-stop-guide-for-complaints/one-stop-guide-for-complaints-about-healthcare-in-wales.pdf?sfvrsn=61677e20_8
Professional standards for the Police
We are sometimes confused with the police standards organisation. As our remit is health and social care, we cannot deal with any complaints about the police. The best way to find out who to contact if you do want to complain about police officers is by contacting the Independent Office for Police Conduct on 0300 020 0096 or visit their website https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/
Questions about registration or revalidation?
If you are a member of a regulated profession and want to register or revalidate, you will need to contact your regulator directly - you can find a regulator here. If you are interested in joining the register of one of the registers on our Accredited Register programme, you will need to contact the register directly. You can find the full list of Accredited Registers here.