Written question asked by Jim Cunningham (Labour) on Wednesday, 5 December 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 17 December 2007. It was answered by Ann Keen (Labour) on Monday, 17 December 2007 on behalf of the Department of Health.

NHS: Complaints

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government has taken to improve the NHS complaints procedure since 1997.

Answer: The national health service complaints procedure is continually being reviewed in the light of changes to the way the NHS works and how patients receive their treatment. In addition, there are other external drivers for change, such as the White Paper ““Our health, our care, our say””, setting the strategic direction for a new NHS through world class commissioning and a new regulatory regime.A number of changes have been introduced since 1997 aimed at improving complaints procedures and overall responsiveness to complaints. While the detail to processes have been changed the objectives have consistently aimed to deliver a system which:"is easy and accessible;""requires providers to extract lessons on quality for complaints to improve services for patients;""is fair to staff and complainants alike;""deals with complaints as swiftly, openly and efficiently as possible; and""is robust, honest and thorough, with the prime aim of resolving the problems and satisfying the concerns of the complainant."Information has been placed in the Library which sets out in detail the specific changes that have been introduced to NHS complaints arrangements from 1997, and the key elements of the current proposals in the consultation ““Making Experiences Count””, which ran from June to October this year.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 469 c1218W; 172938
Session: 2007-08
Related items: Deposited Paper DEP2007-0385
Monday, 17 December 2007
Deposited papers
House of Commons
Subjects: Complaints NHS
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk