12 February 2008
Responding to the Government's announcement yesterday of changes to the NHS complaints system, Kate Webb, Health Campaigner at Which?, says:
“Improvements to the NHS complaints process are long overdue. We hope that the proposals really will result in a better deal for patients who embark on the process of making a complaint about their care or treatment.
“Which? research has shown that many consumers who felt they had cause to make a complaint failed to do so because they did not think it would make a difference or the process was simply too complicated. In a patient-centred NHS, good complaint handling is vital, not least as a way of learning and improving services for the future.
“If these plans are to make a real difference, and lead to improvements in NHS care, they have to be adequately resourced and supported. Getting the complaints system right is just one element of wider improvements that are needed to make it easier for patients to give feedback on their experiences.”
For more information on the new system, please visit: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_082714
Which?’s Impatient for Change campaign calls for urgent improvements in hospital care. Which? wants patients’ views to count. For more information, please visit: www.which.co.uk/impatientforchange
