NHS complaints watchdog failing to treat patients with compassion and respect, says damning new report
Warning comes as Brits let down by the health service are left feeling 'exhausted' after wading through red tape
THE NHS complaints watchdog is failing to treat patients and their relatives with compassion and respect, a damning report says.
Campaigners warn Brits let down by the health service are left feeling “exhausted” after wading through red tape.
A review of the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman by the Patients’ Association found it was “too complicated, unresponsive and lacking in compassion”.
The watchdog was setup by Parliament to provide an independent complaint handling service.
It is described as the “final stage” for complaints about the NHS in England and public services delivered by the UK government.
But the Patients’ Association says the PHSO is not fit for purpose and needs to be reformed.
The independent national charity – established over 50 years ago – receives hundreds of calls a year from people who are unhappy with the service offered by the watchdog.
Their report claims the PHSO ignores evidence provided by complainants, is biased in favour of the organisation they are investigating, and makes the process unnecessarily complicated.
It says they take weeks or months to respond to queries, produce reports that are inadequately investigated, inaccurate or incomplete, and fails to treat people with respect and compassion.
Hospitals trusts are also not asked to demonstrate that recommendations have been acted upon and improvements made, it warns.
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Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients’ Association, said: “The number of calls that our national Helpline receives about the PHSO remains high.
“It is unacceptable that the experience of too many complainants remains of a system which is too complicated, unresponsive and lacking in compassion.
“The majority of complainants are motivated to complain by a desire to improve the system for others by sharing the poor experiences they have had.
“The PHSO, representing the final stage in the NHS complaints process, should act as a reliable, fair and robust final arbiter.
“As evidenced by the wide variety of contacts received by the Patients Association, this is not the case.”
She added: “Some people describe that they feel they are ‘battling the PHSO’ and, although they are determined to pursue their complaints, they feel exhausted by the whole process.
“The Patients Association believes that complainants deserve to be treated with greater respect and compassion when engaging with the PHSO.
“We call on the Government once again to address the long-standing issues with the PHSO and provide a complaints handling service which is fit for purpose.”
A PHSO spokesman said: “We receive more than 100,000 enquiries and investigate 4,000 cases a year.
“Our processes are fair and robust and we constantly seek feedback from complainants to improve our service.
“We recognise there can be times when people find it hard to agree with our findings.”