Healthwatch hits out at "utterly bewildering" complaints system for care in England

NHS and local authority red tape is still making it too difficult for people to complain about poor care, the consumer champion for health and social care in England has claimed.

Describing the current complaints system as “utterly bewildering and largely ineffective”, Healthwatch said there was not enough independent advice and support out there to help those in need.

Above all, the public was given little incentive to come forward about their experiences, it argued.

Research undertaken by Healthwatch found that three out five patients and care users that complained about receiving poor treatment felt that the system was failing to address their concerns – “not taking their cases seriously, ignoring them or in many cases bouncing them around the system until they give up”.

A survey suggested that whilst there had been significant work at a system level to improve processes, overwhelmingly the public said that on the ground hospitals, GPs and care homes were “still failing to grasp fundamental principles about how to deal with those they have let down.”

Just 1 in 5 respondents said they only had to complain once before someone listened to them, while fewer than 1 in 10 was provided with formal support to make a complaint.

More than 80% of people said they would be more willing to complain if they could see it making a difference, such as through informing inspections or improving services.

The research report outlined the case for reform and the need for legislative time to be made available following the next election, Healthwatch said.

The consumer champion set out a list of “relatively simple and straightforward” changes to complaints handling that could be implemented now and ensure cases were dealt with more empathetically and effectively.

Healthwatch said its three key recommendations were:

1. Make it easier for people to complain;
2. Ensure a compassionate resolution; and
3. Hold to account those who fail to listen.

The organisation estimated that at least 250,000 incidents of poor care went unreported in the NHS in 2013/14.

“However, the total number of ‘missing complaints’ across the whole of health and social care is likely to be much higher, although impossible to calculate as there is currently no national level oversight of complaints raised with local authorities about social care services,” it claimed.

Healthwatch’s Chair, Anna Bradley said: “Complaining about poor care is an incredibly difficult thing to do, especially for those who are suffering either physically or emotionally as a result of the way they have been treated by a hospital or care home.

“The professionals and policy makers cannot look on complaints merely as raw intelligence about performance. They need to be compassionate and supportive of those that have been let down.”

She added: “There is already universal support for the need to improve complaints handling and the public has helped us highlight some quick wins for the system. But having examined the experiences of thousands of patients, it is clear that the problem goes much deeper than a bit of tinkering with what we already have.

“We are calling for legislative time to be dedicated to this issue as soon as possible following the election, with the aim of creating a new, streamlined and genuinely responsive system that will give people what they want and ultimately provide the system with the insight to learn from its mistakes.”