Low confidence in NHS complaints process ‘stops patients flagging poor care’ A lack of confidence in the NHS complaints process means some people are taking no action when they experience poor care, according to the patient champion.
Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, said: “We know that public satisfaction with the NHS is at record low levels, with too many patients receiving poor care.
A third of people said they did not think NHS organisations would respond effectively, while one in five said they were worried that complaining would affect their ongoing treatment.
The survey of 2,650 adults in England, carried out by YouGov for Healthwatch, found almost one in four (24%) had a poor experience with the NHS in the last year.
Of those who did not formally complain about their experience, some 34% said it was because they did not think the health service would use the complaint to improve care.
