3 min read
Key insights from a comprehensive new report from Healthwatch England, titled ‘A Pain to Complain’, has also revealed that the majority of people didn’t report their poor experiences:
56% of individuals who encountered poor care took no action at all.
Only around 9% submitted a formal complaint.
Complaints often go unresolved
The report highlighted a lack of confidence in both the complaints process and the outcome. Integrated Care Boards typically take an average of 54 working days to respond, with responses ranging from 18 to 114 working days, a timeline that many see as unacceptably slow. Looking at why people don’t complain, the report found that:
34% didn’t believe their complaint would lead to improvements.
20% feared that complaining could negatively affect future care.
Lack of learning from complaints
The report also found the NHS often fails to capture appropriate demographic data (e.g. ethnicity, disability status) on complainants, which is hindering improvements. There is little evidence that complaints inform meaningful service improvements or cultural change within NHS organisations
Shrinking advocacy support
Funding for council-led NHS complaints advocacy services has declined by over 20% in the past decade, reducing patient support available when navigating complaints
At a glance: the key stats
Metric | Figure/Percentage |
|---|---|
Received poor care | 24% (10.7 million adults) |
Did not take any action | 56% |
Made a formal complaint | 9% |
Concerned NHS wouldn't act/improve | 30–34% |
Average working days for response | 54 days |
A call for reform
The watchdog’s CEO, Louise Ansari, issued a warning that the NHS continues to repeat mistakes and resist real cultural change: “We flagged failings with the NHS over a decade ago, following the patient safety scandal at Mid Staffordshire hospital. Ten years on, our research shows that the public still lack confidence in the NHS complaints system.”
Recommendations for overhauling the complaints system
Healthwatch England laid out actions to rebuild trust and effectiveness:
Simplify the process: Make it easier for patients to understand how to complain, including clear information in the NHS App and online channels.
Standardise response times: Set national deadlines for handling complaints to reduce inconsistency.
Collect better data: Require NHS bodies to log demographic details of complainants to identify patterns and inequalities.
Restore advocacy support: Increase funding and awareness for independent NHS complaints advocacy services.
Embed a learning culture: Promote active listening and visible improvements in response to complaints.
Why this matters
Public confidence in the NHS complaint system remains fragile: only 24% of people express satisfaction with the NHS overall, the lowest since records began. With millions of voices going unheard, the true scale of poor care could be significantly underestimated. In its report, Healthwatch England concludes that a responsive, transparent complaint system is vital not only for individual accountability but for improving the whole system.