Are you worried about your condition getting worse while in hospital?

Have you spoken to your ward nurse or doctor? If you still have concerns after talking to them, contact 0191 607 2034. This is our critical care outreach team.

We know that close relatives and friends can sometimes see something is wrong before anyone else.

What is it?

Call4Concern creates a safety net for patients, family and friends to call for help and advice. It is there if you or your family are concerned that your condition is getting worse.

The service is available at all our hospitals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A leaflet with more about our Call 4 Concern patient safety service is available here.

You can call us if you are worried that you or your relative / friend in hospital, are deteriorating (becoming more unwell despite treatment).

Your call will be taken by a member of our critical care team. This team specialises in deteriorating patients and will know how best to help you.

They look after any patient that is critically unwell. It doesn't matterwhat the problem is or the age of the patient.

For general concerns, please talk to the ward team.

We will always do our best to answer immediately. On occasion, the team may be busy with a critically ill patient.

If this does happen, you will hear an answerphone message. It will ask you to leave the patient’s name, hospital and ward. Most importantly, you must leave your name and contact number. We will call you back as soon as we can.When we do talk to you, we will ask for:

  • The patient's name
  • The hospital and ward they are on
  • Your contact details and your relationship to the patient
  • A brief summary of your concerns

The team will listen to your concerns. They will have access to all of the medical notes. They can view bedside observations and test results. They will use this information to assess the situation. They will make sure you  or your relative / friend gets the help they need.