Low confidence in NHS complaints process ‘stops patients flagging poor care'
A lack of confidence in the NHS complaints process means some people are taking no action when they experience poor care, according to the patient champion.
There is also 'little evidence' that complaints being made to the health service are being used to improve services, Healthwatch England said.
It comes as a poll showed more than half of those who made a complaint to an NHS organisation were not satisfied with the process or outcome.
The survey of 2,650 adults in England, carried out by YouGov for Healthwatch, found almost one in four (24%) had a poor experience with the NHS in the last year.
However, 56% of these people took no action, with fewer than one in 10 (9%) making a formal complaint.
Of those who did not formally complain about their experience, some 34% said it was because they did not think the health service would use the complaint to improve care.
When patients feel their complaints are not taken seriously or don't take any action due to a complex system, services miss out on vital information to help them improve
Louise Ansari, Healthwatch England
A third of people said they did not think NHS organisations would respond effectively, while one in five said they were worried that complaining would affect their ongoing treatment.
Some 19% of those who experienced poor care did not know how to complain, the poll found.
Of those who did complain, some 56% were dissatisfied with the process, with the same proportion unhappy about the outcome.
Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, said: 'We know that public satisfaction with the NHS is at record low levels, with too many patients receiving poor care.
'When patients feel their complaints are not taken seriously or don't take any action due to a complex system, services miss out on vital information to help them improve.'
Figures published in October show the total number of all reported written complaints in the NHS in 2023/24 was 241,922, an increase of 5.4% compared with the 229,458 reported in the previous 12 months.
However, the Healthwatch report claims 'low public confidence is preventing people from taking any action after experiencing poor care', meaning that current complaint numbers 'could just be the tip of the iceberg'.
It added that 'there is little evidence that complaints are being systematically used to improve care'.
Analysis by Healthwatch shows there has been a 37% hike in complaints between 2013/14 and 2023/24.
It suggests this could mean people are more confident about speaking up, as more organisations adopt NHS Complaints Standards which were introduced in 2022.
We need a step change in how people's complaints are handled and acted on. Healthcare leaders should focus on developing a culture of listening and learning from complaints across the sector
Louise Ansari, Healthwatch England
However, it also claims the rise could be 'driven by poorer quality of care caused by pressures on the NHS, especially since the pandemic'.
'Despite year-on-year increases, the health service may not have learned from complaints and remains in a cycle of repeating the same mistakes,' the report said.
Ms Ansari added: 'We flagged failings with the NHS over a decade ago, following the patient safety scandal at Mid Staffordshire Hospital.
'Ten years on, our research shows that the public still lacks confidence in the NHS complaints system.
'We need a step change in how people's complaints are handled and acted on. Healthcare leaders should focus on developing a culture of listening and learning from complaints across the sector.
'Making it easier for patients and families to navigate the complaints system through the NHS app, setting mandatory response times, and measuring people's satisfaction with the process and the outcomes from complaints, will be a key part of this.'
The NHS takes patient experiences very seriously and we are committed to listening to patients and rolling out initiatives like Martha's Rule, which is already having a transformative effect in some cases
NHS spokesman
An NHS spokesman said: 'Every patient deserves high-quality care, and NHS staff are working tirelessly to respond to the increasing demand for services – with a record number of patients coming forward in both primary care and hospitals in the past year.
'The NHS takes patient experiences very seriously and we are committed to listening to patients and rolling out initiatives like Martha's Rule, which is already having a transformative effect in some cases.
'This report highlights that there is still more to do to listen to patients, respond to complaints and improve services, which is why the NHS is working closely with the Government on this year's 10-Year Health Plan to help us transform services to provide the best quality care for patients.'
A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care said: 'This report shows the NHS complaints system is failing far too many patients.
'We are determined to foster an environment where patients and NHS staff alike are able to speak up, knowing they will be supported and that their concerns will be listened to and acted upon.
'We must never turn a blind eye to failure, which is why we will build a culture of transparency in the NHS and ensure patients voices are heard.'
Isabel Lawicka, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, added: 'Listening to patients and their families is a vital part of delivering a safe service.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
STEPHEN POLLARD: Labour's created an atmosphere where the hard working middle class are now fair game for bigotry
That an eight-year-old can be refused healthcare on the NHS because of the school he attends is deeply troubling. It shows that the service once described by Margaret Thatcher 's Chancellor Nigel Lawson as 'the closest thing the English people have to a religion,' has become a battleground for class war where children seeking treatment are seen as the enemy of the proletariat. That includes my children. I am lucky enough to be able to pay for them to attend private schools. I pay the fees on top of my taxes, of course. Now it seems the NHS regards my kids as non-citizens to be shunned.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Victory for Darlington nurses as they win landmark battle for a female-only hospital changing room
Eight pioneering nurses who formed their own union to defend the rights of women have won a landmark battle for a female-only changing room. The Darlington nurses launched a legal action saying transgender policies put them at risk, deprived them of dignity and breached their human rights. They claimed a biological male colleague identifying as a woman called Rose stared at their breasts as they were getting undressed and lingered too long in the changing room. One nurse had a panic attack after Rose repeatedly asked when they were alone, 'Are you getting changed yet?' Now, with their case heading to the courts, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has intervened, ordering Darlington Memorial Hospital to give the women their own room. One of them, Bethany Hutchison, said they 'hugely appreciate' the action 'to restore our safety and dignity in the workplace in line with the law'. And she said the nurses would not 'stop until this action is extended urgently to female workers across the NHS without any unnecessary delay'. The Darlington nurses sued their NHS trust a year ago, winning overwhelming support across the country. 'Millions of women stand with them,' said Their victory comes after it emerged last week that NHS chiefs have been forced to rip up their pro-trans guidance after it was rendered illegal by the Supreme Court. The NHS Confederation, which represents trusts, has quietly withdrawn guidance telling hospitals that they should allow trans people to use their chosen lavatories and changing rooms. A senior NHS England official visited Darlington Memorial Hospital unannounced last week and described the changing facilities for female staff as 'inadequate'. The official apologised to one of the Darlington nurses, promising to act 'with speed' by providing male, female and gender-neutral changing rooms, adding: 'We want you to feel comfortable and safe.' Last year, after raising concerns the nurses were told by HR that they needed to get 're-educated', 'compromise' and 'be more inclusive'. After the nurses publicised their claim, the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust gave them a 'temporary' office for changing into uniforms. However, supporters of the nurses said that the office had no lockers and opened on to a public corridor, resulting in the women branding it as 'dehumanising' and 'humiliating'. When their union was reluctant to lend its support, the eight nurses formed their own, the Darlington Nursing Union and submitted their proposals for a way forward to Mr Streeting. Their guidelines provided 'a fair and manageable way forward to protect safe single-sex spaces for all NHS staff in line with the equality law'. In addition, it respected the rights of those with the protected characteristic of 'gender reassignment', legally known as 'transexuals'. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch backed the nurses saying: 'A woman should never be forced to get undressed in the presence of a man. The case of the Darlington Nurses is yet another example of women being demonised and patronised for raising legitimate concerns about single-sex spaces.' Mr Streeting was forced to wait until after April's Supreme Court ruling that the word sex in the Equality Act means biological sex before making his latest intervention row. Last month it was revealed that even before the Supreme Court ruling, the Royal College of Nursing had written to the Darlington trust saying they were acting unlawfully. The letter ordered the trust to provide single-sex changing rooms 'without delay.' Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: 'A climate of fear has pervaded the system and many from top to bottom have been intimidated into silence and inaction. Equality and diversity policies have been weaponised to silence dissent and to prevent women's safety and dignity being protected in the workplace. 'We are grateful for the action from Wes Streeting and NHS England in this matter and pray that they will now quickly follow this through so that the nurses can return to the female changing rooms without delay.'
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The NHS recoups just £29million for treating European patients... while forking out £1billion in return
The Government is failing to recoup what could amount to millions of pounds each year from European countries for treating their citizens on the NHS, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The Department of Health and Social Care charged European nations just £29.5million last year to pay for their citizens to be treated in Britain's hospitals. Yet the UK's bill for the healthcare costs of British pensioners and holidaymakers treated in European hospitals came to nearly £1billion in the same period. Critics say it raises concerns that the Government is allowing the NHS to be 'taken for a ride' by Europe on healthcare costs. While European nations bill the Government for care provided to Britons based on hospital invoices, the MoS has learned UK officials compile bills for countries based on 'estimates' of costs incurred by the NHS to treat their citizens. Campaigners say the true figure is likely to be significantly higher. And while the NHS is failing to get the best deal possible for taxpayers – Chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing a £30billion boost to the health service at the expense of the police and councils. The revelations come after the MoS revealed in April that hospitals in England had written off £256.4million owed by overseas visitors for NHS procedures. Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: 'The problem lies in our total inability to monitor non-UK nationals' use of the NHS, a scandalous failure to secure payments due, and naivety when dealing with the EU which has so often taken us for a ride.' Tory MP Joe Robertson, a member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, said: 'It beggars belief that the NHS has no record of the cost of care it provides to foreign nationals. 'Our NHS is not supposed to be a subsidised health service for the rest of Europe but plainly that's what it is becoming.' There is a 'reciprocal agreement' for healthcare in Europe, which means all citizens in the European Economic Area (EEA) are entitled to some, or all, of their healthcare needs to be paid for by their home nation when abroad. While European health systems, which usually charge upfront, are good at logging such details, the NHS is not – hence the rough estimates. The figures, which come from a Freedom of Information request by the MoS, reveal the NHS billed Spain £6.7million during 2023/24 and paid back around £441million. Some £225million went to Ireland and £186million to France – but the NHS billed just £17million and £11million in return. Germany received £10.9million and paid back £3.5million to the UK. And there are also more British visitors to Europe (63million) every year than European visitors to the UK (26million). But the gap between what the UK pays, and what it bills back, has worsened over the last decade. In 2014/15, the UK claimed back £49.7million from Europe but in 2023/24, it was £20.2million less, a drop of 40 per cent. And bills for Britons treated abroad have risen by 40 per cent, from £674.4million in 2014/15 to £948.9million last year. Mr Robertson said he had written to the Public Accounts Committee to look at this subject and 'force the Government's hand'. A Department of Health spokesman said the UK charges EU nations when their citizens use the NHS as part of a deal which ensures Britains 'can also get healthcare when visiting Europe'.
