A Pain To Complain was published by Healthwatch in January 2025. It is an interesting report and worth reading. Whilst it focuses specifically on NHS services, the themes can also be applied to private practice carried out in the NHS. In fact, it is interesting to note that whilst NHS patients have access to an external review by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), private patients in the NHS only have access to an external review if the NHS Trust in which they are cared for subscribes to an external review system. Currently, less than 20% of all NHS providers subscribe to an external complaints review service.
Healthwatch conducted research in 2024 to review whether people’s confidence or experience had improved since they first looked at NHS complaint management a decade ago. What they found was that low public confidence is preventing people from taking any action after experiencing poor care in the NHS, meaning that current numbers of complaints could just be the tip of the iceberg. Their research showed there is little evidence that complaints are being systematically used to improve care.
The report identified that the top deterrent for people making complaints related to a lack of confidence in how they will be used. One-third of people (33%) did not believe that NHS organisations would use the complaint to improve services or give them an effective response, and 30% didn’t think the NHS would regard their complaint as ‘serious enough’.
One in five people (20%) were concerned about the personal impact on their care. This is a worrying statistic given that Care Quality Commission guidance requires providers to assure complainants their care won’t be affected if they complain.
The report found that more than half of people (56%) who had made a complaint were dissatisfied with the outcome. Views shared with Healthwatch suggest that people feel NHS organisations are highly defensive or lack empathy in their responses.
There was also a concern expressed by some that the procedures felt inherently unfair because they saw them as allowing the NHS to ‘mark its own homework.’ Not until the complaint reached the PHSO did they feel that it was reviewed impartially. Of course, if the NHS Trust is providing care for private patients, they do not have access to the PHSO and so there is a lack of equity in the complaint process for NHS and private patients.
The Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS) supports the complaints process for providers of private care and their patients. Please get in touch if we can help you.
Written by Vivienne Heckford.