By Lucy Phillips
25 August 2010
There has been a record increase in the number of written complaints about NHS hospitals and community health services in England, according to figures released today.
The NHS Information Centre published data showing the number of paper complaints rose from 89,139 in 2008/09 to 101,077 in 2009/10. The 13.4% rise was the largest year-on-year increase since records began 12 years ago.
The highest number of complaints (44%) related to the performance of doctors. Nurses, midwives and health visitors accounted for the next most at 22%, followed by administrative staff at 8.5%.
The most common subject of complaints regarded clinical treatment, followed by attitudes of staff and delays or cancellations of outpatient appointments.
NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said it was important to judge the findings against a ‘substantial increase’ in NHS activity. Other data from the organisation showed hospital admissions in England rose by 28% between 1998/99 and 2008/09, while GP consultations increased by 44% over the same period.
The PatientsAssociation described the findings as ‘very worrying’, saying they correlated with a rise in people contacting their helpline with health service problems. The charity’s chief executive, Katherine Murphy, said: ‘We hear absolutely appalling stories of neglect, misdiagnosis and a distinct lack of care and compassion. We know many people receive good care but that doesn’t excuse the poor care received by others.’
The coalition government said the increase in complaints had been overseen by the previous Labour administration and it was now ‘determined to put patients at the centre of everything the NHS does’.
