Comments policy

NHS Birmingham East and North’s website has a number of areas where you can contribute to the site. You can comment on our services – we welcome feedback, whether you, a friend or a family member were a patient or even if you were just visiting. You can also add comments on articles in many areas of the site.

Contributions to this website maybe moderated, that is checked to make sure they don’t break our rules. You will need to keep your contributions constructive, relevant and civil. The following rules and guidelines are to protect both you and the NHS, and our moderators will remove contributions that break the rules.

Commenting on care

The service you receive from the NHS will never be affected by your feedback on our services and you can comment anonymously if you wish. You should respect the anonymity of other patients and staff of the services you are commenting on by not using their names.

The “Leave a comment” feature for each service is there for you to comment on your, or a friend’s or family member’s, care. This is not a formal complaint procedure and if you wish to make a complaint you should use our complaints process.

If you want a reply to your feedback you should contact the service either directly or through the local Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

Making a comment does not require registration but you will need to provide an email address so that we can contact you if there are any problems.

Feedback on specific services should be made within the “Leave a comment” area on each service’s page. This area is not suitable for making general political points about NHS services. Comments must be about events within the past 18 months.

Complaining about another person’s comment

If you think that someone’s contribution to the website breaks our rules you can alert us by contacting us via phone or email to report a comment. Reporting a comment will not automatically remove it but will ensure we look at it as soon as possible. The moderators will then decide whether to remove it.

Relevance, civility and decency

Relevance: comments must be relevant to the page they are to appear on.
Be civil: please ensure that your contributions are respectful of others. We will remove contributions that are unlawful, harassing, defamatory, abusive, threatening, obscene, sexually suggestive, racist, homophobic or sexist or that incite or promote hatred of any group of individual.
Writing in capitals: do not write in capital letters – on the internet this is regarded as “shouting” and many people are offended by it.
Be informative: ensure that your comment has enough information to describe your experience, and if relevant, enough information to assist someone else in making decisions about the service
Abusive language: comments containing swearing will be removed. People of all ages use the website and language should be suitable for them.
English: all comments on the website must be made in English. Comments in other languages will be removed.
Stereotypes: comments that stereotype sections of society will be removed.
Multiple posts: duplicate comments or repeats will be removed.

Naming people, defamation, libel and privacy

Whether you are speaking for yourself or on behalf of another person – if for example you are a carer or parent – do not name the individuals you are talking about. If you are making a comment on another person’s behalf, it is best instead to talk of ”my husband” “my friend” and so on to protect their privacy.

Personal information: to protect your privacy any information you contribute that reveals personal information, such as phone numbers, email addresses, addresses and so on will be removed. Any attempts to use the site to exchange personal information or arrange meetings with another user will also be removed.

Screen names, nicknames and impersonation

When selecting a screen name make sure you choose one that is not rude, offensive or aimed at impersonating another person.

Defamation: a comment that is capable of damaging the reputation of another person or organisation can result in legal action against the writer and publisher. Avoid naming any NHS staff who may have treated you or someone on whose behalf you are commenting. If a person could be identified by which area they work, you should avoid mentioning that too.
Naming businesses: Please do not name businesses or commercial services in your comment. Comments deemed to be advertising a product or service will be removed.
Under 16s: We ask that people under 16 get permission from a parent or guardian before posting on the website.

Health, advice, medical products and commercial activity

Comments that glamorise smoking, drug use or drinking or that promote a poor moral example will be removed.

Asking for and giving specific medical advice will be permitted only in clearly marked areas and will be removed from other areas.

We may remove references to specific medical products or medicines if the context is not appropriate.

Legal issues, criminal activity or negligence

Current court cases and court injunctions: Contempt of court rules mean you cannot make comments that could prejudice the outcome of a court case or General Medical Council hearing. Comments on something that subsequently becomes the subject of a court case or hearing will also be removed if they risk contempt of court. Contributions that break a court injunction will be removed.

Clinical negligence or criminal activity: Specific accusations of clinical negligence will not be published. If you have a serious allegation of clinical negligence by a particular clinician or team please use our complaints procedure. Accusations of specific criminal activity will not be published. If you believe that criminal activity is or has taken place at any service please contact the police or service directly.
Threats: comments containing threats of public fear, terrorism or threats towards any individual are not permitted.
Copyright: ensure that you own the copyright to any material you put on the site – especially if you have copied it from another source. If we are in doubt about the ownership of content we will remove it from the site.

Privacy

When you make a comment you will be asked to provide an email address. Your details will only be used to contact you about services you have expressed an interest in or to contact you about your comment should there be any concern about it. NHS Birmingham East and North will not pass on your details to any other party and complies with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Copyright of your contributions

Your contributions to the NHS Birmingham East and North website are published and viewable by the general public. In submitting your comments you assign all rights to NHS Birmingham East and North for use and publication of your contribution (further information can be found in terms and conditions). If you are unwilling to grant NHS Birmingham East and North copyright to your contribution you should not submit it to the site.

Action we may take

A breach of any of our rules can lead to your comment being rejected. Repeat or serious breaches of our rules may lead to NHS Birmingham East and North blocking contributions from your email address. NHS Birmingham East and North reserves the right to delete any content at any time for any reason and is under no obligation to publish any contributions. NHS Birmingham East and North reserves the right to alter or update the house rules or terms and conditions at any time.