A report by the Healthcare Commission has highlighted that patients have concerns about complaints handling, and want Trusts to say “sorry” more often. The Commission is urging NHS Trusts to learn from patients’ complaints and improve complaints handling, with key proposals including apologising more often when they do make mistakes. Complaints about a lack of basic nursing care, overly brisk GP consultations and a lack of help for mental health service users were among the key issues patients raised.
A total of 43% of complaints received about GP practices concerned clinical treatment, with many patients saying their examination was of poor quality, often because it was so brief. A further 23% complained of failed or delayed diagnoses, with the condition involved usually cancer. Twenty percent were about GPs’ poor attitude to patients, including rudeness and neglecting to give full information about treatment because of fears that the patient “could not cope”.
In accident and emergency, frequent complaints related to the failure of staff to recognise or act on abnormal vital signs and the lack, or insufficient use, of pain relief. In addition, common themes in maternity care included women saying staff did not listen to them when they expressed their needs, women being left alone in labour without pain relief and midwives being too busy or having poor attitudes.
However, the number of complaints the Commission returned to Trusts for further action fell, suggesting that complaints are being handled better by Trusts when they are first made.
Anna Walker, the Commission’s chief executive, said: “When you consider that millions of treatments are delivered by the NHS each year, it is encouraging to see the overwhelming majority of patients are happy with the care and treatment they receive. However, it is clear from the complaints referred on to the Commission that Trusts have some way to go before they are effectively resolving the complaints they do receive, and learning from the issues their patients raise.”
