29.08.12
NHS receives over 3,000 complaints a week
Written complaints are on the rise in the NHS, new data shows. The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) reported that over 3,000 written complaints a week were made against the NHS in 2011-12.
This resulted in just over 162,100 complaints for the year, an 8% rise on the previous year. However, the HSCIC cautioned that the comparison was affected by 23 FTs submitting data in 2011-12 but not for 2010-11.
Comparing the 501 NHS organisations who reported for both years, the rise was just over 1%, from 148,900 to 150,900.
The report present information from NHS hospitals and community health services, as well as from family health services by PCT area.
The subject of most complaints for NHS hospitals and community health services was “all aspects of clinical treatment”, with 46% of complaints pertaining to this. This topic also increased by over 13% on the previous year.
For family health services, the largest subject area for complaint was “clinical service”, which covers decisions, advice and treatment provided by a care professional, with 36%.
HSCIC chief executive Tim Straughan said: “This is the first year it has been mandatory for Foundation Trusts to submit data about the number of written complains they receive, helping to give a fuller picture of the volume of complaints made in writing to the health service.
“Having said that, I would encourage greater input from family health services in future primary care submissions to ensure this picture can be brought into even sharper focus.”
But deputy chief executive of the NHS Confederation, David Stout, said: “An increase in the number of complaints doesn’t necessarily mean that patients are less satisfied with their care.
“Although it sounds peculiar, a rise in complaints data can actually mean that patients feel more engaged with their local NHS and want to work with it to improve. It's also a sign that patients are confident their concerns will be listened to and acted upon.”
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