16 October 2008
By David Meilton
There is little evidence of improvement in the way complaints about health or social services are being handled, the National Audit Office has said.
The NAO found that working through the system was not straightforward for users, and the handling of complaints took too long.
Auditor general Tim Burr said: 'The complaints systems for health and social care are not yet as accessible and responsive as they could be. There is a lack of learning from complaints, and providers are not making it clear to users that services are being improved as a result.'
The planned introduction of a comprehensive complaints system across health and social care next year should prioritise adequate staff training, the proper tackling of complaints and improvements in response, he added.
Some 133,600 NHS and 17,100 social care complaints were received in 2006/07, the NAO found. In a survey for the report, one in seven respondents said that they had been dissatisfied with their experience in the past three years.
Two-thirds of complainants were not offered help navigating the system. The NAO pointed out that a national advocacy service is available to help NHS complainants, but there is little awareness of it. Monitoring and implementation of recommendations arising from complaints need to be improved, the report said.
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