Stephen Pollard
loved one was receiving nonetheless chose not to complain.
One explanation for this could be the sense of deference that many of us still feel towards doctors and nurses. Especially among the older generation, the notion that it is wrong to make a fuss is deeply ingrained as is the idea that doctors and nurses are somehow elevated above the rest of us, so we should not criticise them.
Younger generations have less of that deference but it is easy to imagine their older relative begging not to make a fuss. That is natural human behaviour. However, it is also damaging because if no complaint is made then there is no prospect at all of a problem or a culprit being dealt with.
There is another explanation too for this reluctance to complain. Sixty seven per cent of those who did complain said that it made no difference and the standard of treatment remained the same. In other words, why bother to complain if it achieves nothing?
And to compound the problem, there is also the fear that complaining will only make things worse as staff, in effect, punish a patient if their relative causes trouble. The Ombudsman’s report says that, as a result, many elderly patients are “suffering in silence”.
This week’s report highlights the problem but it is longstanding. In 2013, the inquiry into the Mid Staffordshire hospital scandal found a “culture of fear” in the NHS, which extended across patients, their families and medical staff, none of whom felt confident in complaining about poor care.
There have been plenty of warm words ever since but this week’s report shows that they do not amount to much more than that.
As the report shows, over a third of those surveyed – 35 per cent – have been worried at least once over the past year about their relative’s treatment. These include the 28 per cent who say their relative was not helped properly with washing or eating and the 19 per cent who say they were not treated with dignity or respect. In a functioning system, those concerns would be investigated but for the reasons I outlined above many of them are not.
As ombudsman Rob Behrens put it in his report: “The NHS is a lifeline for many vulnerable older people but, when things go wrong too many are suffering in silence.”
It is always difficult to change the culture of an organisation and it is doubly difficult in the case of the NHS because of the reluctance some of us have to make a fuss. But the real issue here that must be tackled is that for all the forms and procedures that supposedly allow for complaints, the organisation treats them as an impertinence.
IF YOU complain – as I know from my own experience – you are made to feel like an ungrateful troublemaker who is wasting everyone’s energy with your baseless moaning. Mr Behrens says: “I want people to be confident to complain, know their rights, and speak up when things go wrong so that the NHS can learn from mistakes and improve services.
“NHS staff should make patients and their loved ones aware of how to complain, point them to support, and make it clear that their future care will not be compromised.”
That is admirable and it is exactly what needs to happen. But don’t hold your breath.
‘There is even a fear of punishment’