Care patients ‘urged to complain’
HEALTH and social care patients have been urged to make their voices heard, as it emerged millions want to complain but do not know how.
Those who do not raise concerns about their care regret it, while those who do often see improvements, it was found.
Almost seven million people in England who have accessed health or social care services over the past five years had concerns but never raised them, analysis by the Care Quality Commission found.
Of these, more than half admit regretting not taking it further.
The most common reasons for not making a complaint were not knowing how, or who to raise it with. Other reasons included not wanting to be seen as a troublemaker and fears about not being taken seriously.
More than one third felt nothing would change as a result of speaking out.
However, when people did raise a concern or complaint two-thirds found their issue was resolved quickly, the service improved and they were happy with the outcome.
CQC chief executive Ian Trenholm said: “We know that when people raise a concern they have a genuine desire to improve the service for themselves and others.
“We also know that the majority of services really appreciate this feedback and make positive changes, as this new research shows. Hearing from people about their experiences of care is an important part of our inspection work and contributes to driving improvements in standards of care.”
The research coincides with the launch today of the CQC’s Declare Your Care campaign, which encourages people to share their experiences to drive up standards.
Care minister Caroline Dinenage said: “We want the NHS and social care system to provide the safest, most compassionate care in the world.
“This means encouraging patients to speak up with their concerns, ensuring we act on them and learning from what happened so we can do better in the future.
“That’s why I encourage anyone who has concerns over their care, or the care of loved ones, to share their experiences with the CQC so they can continue their vital work of protecting patients and improving the excellent care we see across the health service.”