Complaints soar at NHS Forth Valley
Health chiefs assure they are tackling figure increase
The number of complaints received by NHS Forth Valley have increased to above pre-pandemic levels, a meeting of the board heard on Tuesday.
But health chiefs insist they are pulling out all the stops to improve the situation.
NHS Forth Valley continues to work towards achieving the local performance target of 80 per cent.
Frances Dodd, Executive Nurse Director said: “There are a couple of reasons for the increase in complaints.
“We have some vacancies in the patient relations team and have some interim arrangements until the successful candidate comes in to post.
“The acute team have recruited some additional admin support to co-ordinate the responses to complaints to responses within the acute team, recognising that patients and families are waiting on these responses.
“Some of the elements in the delays have been related to the challenges we have been having.
“But we note that the Ombudsman is not upholding any of the complaints that we have not upheld.
“There is a level of confidence for board members’ assurance about the number of complaints we have been upholding or not upholding.”
She added: “One of the things that is concerning is the average time it is taking to go through the complaints process for the public and that is something we are looking to address.
“The Patient Relations Team continues to provide a comprehensive and supportive service to all our patients and families and works closely with staff in the management of complaints.”
During the period April – March 2023, a total of 2,034 complaints (including complaints transferred/ withdrawn/consent not received) were received indicating an increase of 25.7 per cent, compared to the same period the previous year.
However, in comparison to pre-pandemic complaints received in 2019/20 it is noted that there is a 12.1 per cent increase on the number of complaints received.
A further breakdown notes the percentage of complaints against NHS Forth Valley’s patient activity represents 0.21 per cent of the total number of complaints received during the period April – March 2023.
The performance analysis confirms that 1,963 complaints have been investigated during April – March 2023 achieving a performance figure 74.5 per cent, compared to a performance figure of 81.9 per cent in the same period for 2021/22.