Complaints

All staff at One to One Midwives consistently strives for excellence. Our service is underpinned by core values that include openness, honesty and integrity. Our main aim is to give the best quality care we can give but we understand that there may be times when you feel that this has not happened and in some instances, you may feel it necessary and appropriate to make a complaint. If you do have a complaint or concern we ask that, in the first instance, you talk it through with your midwife. If this is not appropriate or you feel you cannot talk to your named midwife then please follow this toolkit.

Please be reassured that complaints are dealt with in the strictest confidence in line with the One to One confidentiality policy.

Why complain?

It is important for us to receive both positive and negative feedback; this will help us to improve our services.

There are a variety of reasons why you may wish to complain. These include:

  • Being unhappy with your:
    • One to One midwife
    • MaMA (Mother and Midwife assistant)
    • Sonographer
  • Difficulty building a positive relationship with your midwife
  • Poor communication

Is it to late for me to complain?

The national standards states that the time limit for making a complaint is 12 months from the event that gave rise to the complaint. The exception is when the complainant was not aware that there was cause for complaint until a later date; the timeframe is then 12 months from when you become aware. However, at One to One we feel it is never to late for you to make a complaint. It is not unusual for a woman to take months or even years to process the care that she has received and get to a point where she is able to talk about it. Complaints are used to raise awareness of women’s pregnancy and birthing experiences and help to inform future service improvements.

What is a complaint?

The complaint is a factual statement written by you that will serve as your “official” account. The complaint should include as a minimum, your name, your date of birth, the time you were booked with One to One and your address and contact telephone number and is a place for you to tell us exactly what happened to you while accessing our services.

How to make a complaint?

You can make a complaint by:

  • Telephone – 0330 330 9121 and ask for the Complaints Manager
  • Email – complaints@121midwives.co.uk
  • One to One website – www.onetoonemidwives.org via general enquiries Postal:
    • North West Region: FAO - One to One Midwives, St James Centre, 344 Laird street, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH41 7AL
    • South East Region: FAO - One to One Midwives, Abbey Field Medical Centre, Ypres road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 7EW

Your complaint

Via letter or email:

You may want tfocus on the level of customer service that you received including poor communication. Alternatively, you may want tfocus on the care that you received from our service. The complaints letter/email is a good place to talk about the actions you would like tbe taken. Really think about what you want out of this complaint: dyou want an acknowledgment and apology, dyou want a home visit tdiscuss your complaint or dyou want tsee something change? If you want reassurance that such a thing will never happen again tanother person, what does that look like to you?

What happens next?

On receipt of your complaint you will be allocated a named person as a contact within One to One and he/she will contact you, either in writing or by phone tacknowledge receipt of your complaint, within the NHS target timeframe of three working days.

Your complaint will then be allocated to the appropriate person tinvestigate. Wherever possible the investigation will be concluded and a response made available tyou within 20 working days of receipt of the original complaint. When this is not possible you will be contacted tkeep you fully informed of progress of the review. 

When the investigation is complete the report is sent to you informing you of the outcome, including any lessons learnt and resulting change in practice. You will alsbe offered a home visit tdiscuss the report. 

If the results of the investigation dnot meet your expectation or you feel that your concerns have not been addressed adequately we will direct you where tgnext; this may include contacting:


Complaints Policy Complaints Policy (1016 KB)