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Reforming the NHS complaints procedure

  • Last modified date:
    8 February 2007

The current NHS complaints procedure underwent an independent evaluation during 1999-2000. The NHS Plan committed Ministers to acting on the results of the evaluation. The evaluation report, NHS Complaints Procedure National Evaluation, and a listening document, Reforming the NHS Complaints Procedure - a Listening Document, were published on 3 September 2001.

The listening exercise showed the need to change complaints handling in the NHS so that it is more independent and responsive to the needs of patients. In particular, the evaluation and listening exercise indicated that the Independent Review stage caused significant dissatisfaction for complainants, as it was not perceived by complainants to be truly independent or impartial.

NHS complaints reform - making things right

The Department of Health published NHS Complaints Reform - Making Things Right on 28 March 2003, which described proposals to reform the NHS complaints procedure. It set out a programme of work to improve management of the whole complaints system, elements of which were included in the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003.

The programme for delivering complaints and clinical negligence reform is an essential and integral element of the Department's programme for improving patients' overall experience of health care, which is a priority for the NHS. It builds on the existing procedure, as well as wider initiatives, to introduce operational improvements focused around:

  • Making the system more flexible so that there are a range of ways in which people can express concerns about the services they have received,
  • Improving Local Resolution so that formal complaints are more likely to be resolved at this stage, reducing the need for them to escalate unnecessarily,
  • Radical reform to the independent review stage, subject to primary legislation - by placing responsibility for it with the new Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI), and
  • Making sure information about complaints and their causes are an integral part of the system that assures safe, high quality care, which is constantly improving.

Consultation on draft complaints regulations

The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 gave the Secretary of State the power to make regulations on complaints handling by the NHS in England.  A consultation exercise started on 17 December 2003, although the official consultation period ran from 1 January to 31 March 2004.  Click on the link below to view the consultation documents.

Timetable for introducing the reformed complaints procedure

The Department had been working towards implementation of the reformed NHS complaints procedure from 1 June this 2004.  However, the Solicitor to the Shipman Inquiry wrote to express concern about this date because the Inquiry would not be reporting until later in the year.  Ministers therefore decided on a phased implementation of the new framework:

Independent review - the NHS (Complaints) Regulations 2004 came into force on 30 July and the Healthcare Commission's role in the independent review of complaints commenced from this date.  

Local resolution - the legal framework as set out in the current Regulations (for primary care practitioners) and Directions (for NHS trusts, PCTs and Strategic Health Authorities) will continue to apply until we have given consideration to any recommendations made by the Shipman Inquiry, as well as the Neale and Ayling inquiries. Amended Complaints Regulations will be issued during 2006 once we have been able to give proper consideration to the recommendations made by the Shipman Inquiry, which published its 5th report on 9 December 2004.

However, the Complaints Regulations consolidate and rationalise the previous Directions (for secondary care only), various sets of which were issued since1996.

The current regulations can be viewed on the 'Current Legislation' page.

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