A total of 13 recommendations have been made by Healthwatch Isle of Wight to the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, two of which have already been acted upon.
As previously reported, many people considering complaining about a hospital, care home or GP practice, find the procedures both complicated and frustrating.
The Healthwatch IW report ‘From Pillar to Post’ found that, overall, patients expressed dissatisfaction with the Isle of Wight NHS Trust complaints process with 87% of respondents stating they were unsatisfied with the response to their complaint and 65% reporting they felt there would be adverse effects on their future care as a result of complaining.
51% of respondents felt their concerns were not taken seriously as soon as they were raised. This alongside the fact that 64% of people reported being unaware of the existence of advocacy support is a real concern for Healthwatch Isle of Wight.
As a result of the findings contained in the report Healthwatch Isle of Wight have made 13 recommendations to improve the complaints experience for people. These include improving the quality of responses and the inclusion of apologies where necessary, reviewing their practice to establish the cause of the 3 working day acknowledgements consistently going unmet and making complaints literature (posters and leaflets) available and clearly visible at every department in the hospital.
In response to the report, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust state that:
“Following receipt of the report we have already made some changes to our processes and will continue to do so in the coming months. The Trust has already taken the key actions as recommended in the report, these are:
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- Improved our website in relation to complaints and PALS.
- Developed a survey to send to complainants to complete once their complaint has been closed”.
The Island’s NHS Trust’s complaints were highlighted as an area of concern by the public during the 2014/15 consultation event launched by Healthwatch Isle of Wight and as such was adopted as a focus area. This had been identified separately by the Isle of Wight NHS Trust within their Annual Complaints Report 2013/14.
Joanna Smith, Healthwatch Manager said:
“Healthwatch is looking forward to working closely with the Trust to ensure that all recommendations made within the report are met and sustained.
“We firmly believe that complaints systems should be streamlined and straightforward to use and above all, complaints should be handled sensitively and used as a method to improve care for other people”.
The report ‘From Pillar to Post’ is available by visiting www.healthwatchisleofwight.co.uk.
