There has been a steady year on year rise in complaints made by patients and their families against healthcare organisations. At a time when our health and social care sector has limited resources, the volume of complaints, as well as the level of complexity of the issues raised, can place a tremendous strain on healthcare professionals and those that work to help resolve complaints. In addition, poor outcomes for patients in terms of the way their complaint has been handled and responded to can have a lasting and negative impact on therapeutic relationships and create additional problems for all those involved.
It is also the case that reductions in services and limited access to treatment are areas that can often trigger complaints. The current climate is therefore likely to lead to an even greater number of complaints being made. Statistics published by the Health Service Ombudsman has highlighted that the largest number of complaints referred to the Ombudsman in the first quarter of 2018/19 related to access to treatment and care. A failure to handle these types of complaints appropriately can lead to adverse publicity and litigation.