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Publication, Part of

Data on Written Complaints in the NHS - 2020-21 Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 [NS]

National statistics

Publication Date:
14 Jan 2021
Geographic Coverage:
England
Geographical Granularity:
Ambulance Trusts, Clinical Commissioning Groups, Care Trusts, Community health services, Hospital and Community Health Services, Hospital Sites, Hospital Trusts, Mental Health Trusts, NHS Trusts
Date Range:
01 Apr 2015 to 31 Dec 2020
National Statistics

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Data on Written Complaints in the NHS - 2020-21 Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 [NS]

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Introduction
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Summary

This quarterly collection is a count of written complaints made by or on behalf of patients about NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) in England. They are collected via the KO41a form.

For the period 1 April – 30 June 2020 (2020-21 Q1):

  • There were 14,142 new HCHS written complaints compared to 26,293 in 2019-20 Q4.
  • During the period 17,028 complaints were resolved, of these 4,673 (27.4%) were upheld, 5,915 (34.7%) were partially upheld and 6,440 (37.8%) were not upheld.

For the 14,142 new complaints made:

  • There were 25,729 complaints by subject area1, of which 27.0% (6,947) were complaints about clinical treatment. The largest proportion by all subject areas were about communication with 18.5% (4,751) then patient care including nutrition/hydration at 11.9% (3,052).
  • There were 21,027 complaints by profession1. The largest proportion was attributed to medical staff with 40.0% (8,408) followed by nursing staff at 25.5% (5,365).

 

For the period 1 July – 30 September 2020 (2020-21 Q2):

  • There were 22,682 new HCHS written complaints compared to 14,142 in 2020-21 Q1.
  • During the period 19,356 complaints were resolved, of these 5,371 (27.7%) were upheld, 6,766 (35.0%) were partially upheld and 7,219 (37.3%) were not upheld.

For the 22,682 new complaints made:

  • There were 41,321 complaints by subject area1, of which 27.6% (11,399) were complaints about clinical treatment. The largest proportion by all subject areas were about communication with 17.7% (7,334) then patient care including nutrition/hydration at 11.6% (4,809).
  • There were 34,121 complaints by profession1. The largest proportion was attributed to medical staff with 39.1% (13,331) followed by nursing staff at 26.2% (8,927).

 

1 A written complaint can cover multiple subjects, service and professional areas. Therefore, the total complaints by subject, service and profession can be greater than the number of new complaints.

Last edited: 13 January 2021 11:17 am