The Patients Association Helpline helps thousands of patients and relatives every year, answering concerns and queries about any aspect of the Healthcare system.

The Patients Association has a database containing over 14,000 individual cases of calls to our Helpline, which it uses to monitor emerging trends and issues in the healthcare sector.

We use the calls we receive on the Helpline to inform our campaigning work. For example our campaign on cuts in Hospitals, which we launched in March, was due to patients contacting us and telling us they were having problems accessing services. You can read more about that campaign here.

This section covers advice on the ten most common complaints that we hear about on the Helpline. If you want further information on any of the topics listed here please do not hesitate to contact the Helpline on 08456 08 44 55, or email us at helpline@patients-association.com.

To view a list of our current advice publications and how to download them, please click on the link below.

Our Helpline is open from 9:30am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday. If you want to speak to someone on our Helpline, please call on 0845 608 4455.

If you would like to contact the Helpline via email, please email Helpline@patients-association.com or click on the link below.

Often the language and phrases that healthcare professionals use can be confusing for patients.

We have listed some of the most common phrases we hear from patients that they don't understand and given a brief explanation to aid you in a consultation or meeting with a healthcare provider.

Please remember to always ask if you do not understand what is being said, it is important that you feel comfortable with the treatment you are receiving and this cannot be the case if you do not understand what is being said.