Ann Clywd says to put patients “back in the picture” with complaints shakeup

Elliot Bidgood, 29 October 2013

Yesterday, the government released a report into complaints procedure in the NHS. It was led by Ann Clwyd MP, the Labour MP for Cynon Valley in Wales, and Professor Tricia Hart, Chief Executive of South Tees NHS Foundation Trust. Clwyd’s husband Owen Roberts died last year in hospital, and the emotional account she gave of the poor care he had received moved many, leading to her appointment to lead the review.

At the same time, Dame Julie Mellor DBE, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, has called for a “24/7” complaints service that is more easily accessible to patients, arguing that the “toxic cocktail” of difficulties complaining on the public side and reluctance to respond on the NHS side currently creates major problems.

The Clwyd-Hart review received over 2,500 responses detailing problems members of the public had experienced, demonstrating that what Ann Clwyd and her husband faced were not completely isolated. Not knowing how to complain or identify staff was a barrier for many, but some also reportedly feared the impact of complaining. The report, ‘A Review of the NHS Hospitals Complaints System: Putting Patients Back in the Picture’, gives the NHS a year to become more accountable.

The report creates specific expectations for various bodies in and around the NHS. Clwyd and Hart were able secure ‘Pledges to Act’ from 12 bodies, ranging from the Nursing and Midwifery Council to the Local Government Association and the Care Quality Commission – each will now have a specific role in strengthening complaints procedure, all of which are outlined in the report. Other recommendations in the report include relatively simple measures, such as providing patients with writing materials and clearer information on who their current carers are. As a non-clinical volunteer at an NHS Trust, I was also interested by the recommendation that Trusts “should actively encourage volunteers” and add complaints-handling and specific training for this to their roles.

These are all good proposals. An August report by the Heath Service Ombudsman similarly stressed the need for a more positive and constructive approach to collecting feedback, staff complaints training and clear guidelines on publishing data. It also recommended a national complaints hotline and for NHS organisations to visibly publish examples of changes made in response to complaints – the latter is a technique that you sometimes see businesses adopt, keenly aware that they cannot simply view their customers as passive recipients. Earlier in the year, former Health Secretary and chair of the patients’ service iWantGreatCare.org Alan Milburn argued in The Times that patients should be seen as “smoke alarms” in the service and that greater transparency and accountability, rather than more regulation, could empower them to drive improvements in the service.

All in all, the Clwyd-Hart proposals are very encouraging. They will hopefully empower patients and prevent them from suffering the kind of treatment Owen Roberts and others have received.

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