Person-centred care: guidance for non-executive directors

Feedback, Comments, Concerns and Complaints

Which of the five 'Must Do with Me' principles does this relate to?

The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 introduced the right for people to give feedback, comments, concerns and complaints about the services they receive from NHSScotland, and places a duty on the NHS to actively encourage, monitor, take action and share learning from the views they receive.

There were 22,417 complaints made about NHS services in Scotland in 2014-15 - the equivalent of 0.05% of all NHS activity. The figure includes all hospital visits, and GP, outpatient, dental and ophthalmic appointments, and represents a 9% increase since 2013-14.

Source: ISD (Scotland) NHSScotland complaints:
https://isdscotland.scot.nhs.uk/Health-Topics/Quality-Indicators/Publications/2015-09-29/2015-09-29-Complaints-Report.pdf?87847536803

In 2014-15, in line with one of the recommendations of the Scottish Health Council's report: 'Listening and Learning: How Feedback, Comments, Concerns and Complaints Can Improve NHS Services in Scotland', the Scottish Government asked the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman's Complaints Standards Authority to lead the development of a revised NHS complaints procedure. A working group, including representation from NHS Boards, the independent Patient Advice and Support Service (PASS), the Scottish Health Council, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland, has since been convened to take this forward.

Number of complaints received for NHSScotland: 2010/11 to 2014/15

Source: ISD (Scotland) NHSScotland complaints:
https://isdscotland.scot.nhs.uk/Health-Topics/Quality-Indicators/Publications/2015-09-29/2015-09-29-Complaints-Report.pdf?87847536803

Boards must listen to, and act on, every complaint made about the services they provide, and use the information to identify the changes or improvements that could be made to further improve quality of care and treatment. This year, NHS Boards once again published annual reports showing where lessons have been learned, and action taken to improve services, as a direct result of feedback, comments, concerns and complaints.