New steps to improve how Welsh NHS handles complaints

Action is being taken to improve the way the NHS in Wales deals with complaints, Health and Social Services Minister Mark Drakeford announced today.

Progress has been made in response to an independent review by Keith Evans about how the health service handles complaints, which was published in July.

Action underway includes:

• Improving the way the complaints system – Putting Things Right – is promoted to make it easier and more accessible for patients and families
• Encouraging early contact with patients to resolve any issues when they happen
• Developing a national approach to publishing data on complaints to ensure all NHS organisations publish information in a consistent way, which is easy for the public to understand and allows for meaningful comparisons across Wales
• New projects are underway so that patients and their families can clearly understand how to comment on any aspect of a service they may have received, whether good or bad. These include the pilot of iWantGreatCare at Wrexham Maelor Hospital and the Princess of Wales Hospital, in Bridgend to capture real-time patient and visitor feedback
• The Health and Social Services Minister is investigating the potential for establishing a national expert team to deal with serious concerns and shared learning. These proposals will be developed over the coming months

Professor Drakeford said: “The Welsh NHS treats millions of patients a year, providing high-quality care in often difficult circumstances. However, when patients and families feel they don’t get the care they expect, the system does not always work for them. Despite this, complaints received by the NHS represent less than 0.1% of all activity.

“When patients and families do make a complaint, they need have confidence in the system and know their concerns are being listened to and acted on.

“Since Keith Evans’ review was published, the Welsh Government and health boards have taken action to implement many of his recommendations. This includes looking at how we use data at a national level, simplifying the complaints process and making sure the resources to respond to concerns are in place.

“The Welsh Government and the NHS will continue to do all we can to make the complaints process work for patients and ultimately improve the care the health service in Wales provides.”

The Welsh Government commissioned Mr Evans, the former chief executive and managing director of Panasonic UK and Ireland, to lead the review, which made more than 100 recommendations to strengthen the NHS complaints process.