NHS Complaints On The Rise

Almost 100,000 complaints were received by frontline NHS trusts in England during 2005/06. Statistics released by The Information Centre for Health and Social Care reveal that in 2005/06 a total of 95,047 complaints were made. This compares with 90,413 complaints made during the previous 12 months.

However, there were just over 36,000 complaints about all aspects of clinical care. Many of the complaints (11,500) were about delays and cancellations of outpatient appointments and nearly 11,500 regarding the attitude of staff. The number of complaints about family health services, such as GPs and general dental practitioners, has remained level at around 43,000 for the past three years.

The Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was the most complained-about trust, notching up 698 complaints, while the South Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust received just six complaints.

Liberal Democrat shadow health secretary Steve Webb MP said: “This is a further symptom of an NHS under pressure from weekly job cuts and service reductions. Front line staff need support to deliver a quality service, rather than the Government’s constant reorganisation.”