PCTs should take heed of patients complaints

11 Oct 07
Primary care trusts should take patients' complaints into account when making commissioning decisions, especially those involving independent sector providers, the Healthcare Commission said this week.

12 October 2007

Primary care trusts should take patients' complaints into account when making commissioning decisions, especially those involving independent sector providers, the Healthcare Commission said this week.

In the first audit of how the NHS handles complaints, the watchdog found wide variations in the way trusts dealt with problems.

PCTs should ensure complaints monitoring was an integral element of their performance and risk management and clinical governance systems, it added.

The commission examined 32 trusts where questions had been raised about their response to complaints, but only two had met government standards. Twelve had significant lapses and this will affect their annual health check rating, due to be published later this month.

Commission chief executive Anna Walker said: 'We fully support moves to ensure patients get quicker and local resolution to complaints — that is what they tell us they want. But there are serious questions about whether trusts are in a position to ramp up their systems in time to provide the necessary standard of service.'

PFoct2007

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