NHS hospitals complaints system needs a ‘revolution’ - Our response to the Clywd Hart report into NHS complaints in hospitals.

A government-backed review into the NHS hospital complaints system calls for significant changes in how the NHS handles complaints and deals with problems with patient safety.

The Clywd Hart report looks at how complaints about care in NHS hospitals made by patients, their carers and representatives are listened to and acted on by hospitals.

Responding to the Clywd Hart report, Anna Bradley, Chair of Healthwatch England, said:

"People simply don't know where to go if they have a problem. They just want their complaints dealt with quickly, efficiently and to see that it has made some practical difference for the future.

"However, today’s report is another indication of how far there is still to go before people get the complaints system they deserve.

"As the consumer champion for health and social care we will be campaigning at both a national and local level to see these recommendations put into action. We will scrutinise the system to ensure they are implemented not just in hospitals but across the entire health and social care sector including care homes, dentists and GP surgeries."

You can hear Anna Bradley interviewed about the complaints system on today's episode of BBC Radio 4's You and Yours (story starts at 01:20) and more on the report on World at One (from 12:29).

Download our initial response to the Clywd Hart report