Complaints to NI health trusts grow by 75% over five-year period, report reveals
The details are outlined alongside statistics published today by the Department of Health which reveal that all six trusts have experienced a rise in the number of complaints.
It also includes information on complaints against Family Practitioner Services in NI for the year ending March 31, 2025, broken down by the programme of care (POC), category, subject and specialty of the issue raised.
Over a quarter (2,406) of complaints involved the Belfast Trust, with 2,178 complaints made to the South Eastern Trust and another 1,634 to the Western Trust.
A total of 1,180 issues were reported to the Southern Trust, while the Northern Trust received 1,092 complaints.
The NI Air Ambulance received 315 complaints, while 745 grievances related to general medicine and another 550 pertained to children and young people services.
The highest percentage of complaint issues (14.1%) received in 2024/25 related to the 'accident and emergency' specialty (1,243).
Over half (4,718) of all complaints received during 2024/25 fell under the bracket of 'acute POC' issues, accounting for one in seven of all grievances against the Belfast Trust.
The number of complaints about acute care has rose from 2,695 in 2020/21 to 4,718 last year.
Complaint issues relating to Family Practitioner Services increased from 173 in 2020/21 to 272 in 2024/25.
The median age of the patient or client raising complaints was 46 years.
The statistics reveal that 59% of complainants were female and 41% were male.
Health trusts issued substantive responses to more than two-fifths (2,455) of complaints within 20 working days.
On a more positive note, the health trusts received 42,312 compliments in the same 12-month period.
Just over 49% of them related to 'quality of treatment and care', with just over 25% pertaining to 'staff attitude and behaviour'.
Almost 11% were from people impressed by the 'information and communication' within the health service. Nearly 3% related to the 'environment' and almost 12% fell under the bracket of 'other' subjects.
It comes a month after the Belfast Trust appointed Jennifer Welsh as its new chief executive following the sacking of its chairman, Ciaran Mulgrew, by the Health Minister.
Mike Nesbitt decided that a change of leadership was needed in order to mark a fresh start for the trust following a series of scandals.
Health was marked as a priority in Stormont's Programme for Government due to NI having 'the longest hospital waiting times in the UK, with people struggling to get the treatment they need'.
'In recent years, pressure has increased due to both a rise in demand but also the impact of the pandemic on the Health and Social Care system,' it states.
'These have combined, adding to the backlog of patients awaiting care.'
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