Contact Us

The main switchboard at Royal Berkshire Hospital can direct you to many of our services and teams. However, you will find direct dial numbers for wards on departments on their individual pages

0118 322 5111.

The Trust runs an out of hours for urgent calls that cannot wait until the next working day only. Please contact our main switchboard between 6pm and 8am weekdays and 6pm Friday to 8am Monday on 0118 322 5111.

If you have an issue or query that you would like us to help you resolve, our Patient Advice and Liason Service team may be able to help.

You can ask a member of staff to contact PALS for you, or contact them directly on 0118 322 8338, by letter at:

PALS
Level 2 Main Entrance
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
London Road
Reading RG1 5AN

or you can email PALS@royalberkshire.nhs.uk.

If you've see a noticeable change in a patient in hospital and you feel the health care team is not recognising your concern, or if you feel there is confusion over what needs to be done for the patient and you need clear information about what is happening then get in touch with our Critical Care Outreach Team via Call 4 Concern (adult patients) or Call 4 Concern (child patients).

Call or text us directly on our dedicated mobile phone: 0777 475 1352

Call C4C if you have ongoing concerns after you have spoken to the ward nurse or doctor. Please do not feel concerned that using this system will negatively affect the patient’s care in any way. We recognise that sometimes the patient or a close loved one can see that something is wrong. No one knows your health care needs better than you and your family.

If we are unable to offer you a satisfactory response to your concerns informally, you can make a formal complaint either by emailing complaints@royalberkshire.nhs.uk or by writing to the Complaints Team at the address below:

Complaints Team
Level 2, Main Entrance
Royal Berkshire Hospital
Craven Road
Reading
RG1 5AN

What can I expect from the formal complaints process?

You should make your complaint within 12 months from when the issue occurred or from when you have become aware that an issue occurred. This enables us to thoroughly investigate your complaint.

Please give as much information as you can, including your name, address and hospital number.

You can ask a friend or relative to raise a complaint on your behalf. If you do, we will ask you to sign a consent form, giving us permission to disclose your personal information to this person.

We will acknowledge your complaint either by email, telephone or in writing within 3 working days, informing you of the next steps.

We will also keep you informed of progress, and if the investigation is going to take longer than originally thought we will explain to you the reason why.

Once the investigation is complete, we will provide you with a written response explaining the outcome and conclusions of the investigation or we will arrange a meeting if you prefer.

However, the formal complaints procedure cannot look at issues relating to discipline (for example whether a member of staff should be dismissed), strike a health professional off the register / suspend their registration or look at complaints about treatment provided privately unless it was paid for by the NHS.

View Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust's Complaints Policy. 

We hope you will find what you are looking for on our website, but if not, you can send your Freedom of Information (FOI) request to us by email or by post.

Please remember to include your full name and address, along with a clear description of the information you are looking for. The FOI team will respond within 20 working days.

Please do not contact our FOI team to request medical records.

If you would like to submit a request access to your medical record, please click here (https://www.royalberkshire.nhs.uk/your-info-and-health-records.htm)
where you will be able to find more information about your health records.

If you would like to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act, please email: foi@royalberkshire.nhs.uk

or write to the address below:

Freedom of Information Act Co-ordinator
Department of Corporate Governance
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
London Road
Reading RG1 5AN

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the team by email. If you are unhappy in any way regarding the manner in which your request has been handled, the Trust has an internal review procedure through which you can raise any concerns you might have.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the complaints procedure, you can apply to the Information Commissioner, who will consider whether the Trust has complied with its obligations under the FOIA, and can require the Trust to remedy any problems. You can find out more about how to do this, and about the FOIA in general, on the Information Commissioner’s website.

Complaints to the Information Commissioner should be sent to:
FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

All media enquiries should be directed to the Communications Team who are based onsite at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. They will, wherever possible, respond promptly to your requests, you can contact them via communications@royalberkshire.nhs.uk.

Out of hours contacts for journalists only: 0118 322 5111

GP Liaison 

Are you aware that the Royal Berkshire Foundation Trust has a GP liaison email address specifically for primary care staff ?

This is a central email address (managed by our PALS team) which can be used for concerns/questions which the practice is raising on a patient's behalf. Each query is sent through to the relevant department or individual here at the Trust and managed appropriately. 

GPs seeking advice and guidance or referral questions should continue to do through the normal channels. Please also note that the email address should not be used in urgent cases as it is not manned 24/7.

gpliaison.rbft@nhs.net