Slightly fewer complaints to Black Country and Staffordshire hospital trusts amid pandemic

NHS England data showed 2,803 complaints were registered across the region over 2020-2021 – which was down from almost 3,000 in 2019-2020.

Leaders say the pandemic has been a major factor in the decline seen across England, where 83,899 complaints were made – a drop of 26 per cent.

Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs New Cross Hospital, received 471 written complaints in 2020-2021, up from 384 the year before.

The most complained about issue was patient care, including nutrition, hydration, communications and admissions discharge and transfers at the trust.

Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Russells Hall Hospital, received 715 written complaints – up from 674 from the year before.

Communication, such as how decisions are explained or whether treatment implications are made clear enough, was the most complained about issue.

At the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs City Hospital and Sandwell General Hospital, there were 879 complaints - up from 846 the year before with the most complained about issue surrounding communications.

At the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs Walsall Manor Hospital, there were 274 complaints which was down from 340 the year before. Communications was, again, the most common reason for a complaint.

At the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs Stafford County Hospital and the Royal Stoke University Hospital, there were 464 complaints - down from 724 received the year before, with communication being the most common reason for complaint.

NHS England announced an optional pause to the complaints process between March and June 2020 which may have affected the number of complaints received.

Rob Behrens, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman responsible for investigating complaints about government departments and the NHS in England, said it is hard to know exactly why the numbers have dropped, but the pandemic has likely been a "major factor".

He added: "People recognise the NHS is under pressure and might be holding back, but ultimately, I encourage anyone who believes they have suffered an injustice to come forward.

"I fear the NHS will face a tidal wave of complaints that will take years to go through, while others maybe denying themselves justice by not coming forward."

Healthwatch England said the fall in the number of complaints nationally was not a reflection of patient satisfaction, as patients were accessing care less often to avoid putting pressure on the NHS.

Louise Ansari, national director at the independent watchdog, said: "In the past year we have recorded a significant surge in public concerns around the lack of communication from the NHS.

"Thousands of the most vulnerable patients, including people who are deaf, blind and have a learning disability, told us they stopped getting communication support or healthcare information in the formats they had been before the pandemic.

"The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England should focus on creating a culture of learning from people’s feedback across the health and care sector.

"This is the best way to prevent issues from reoccurring, while showing people that their complaints matter."

The DHSC said it is committed to ensuring the NHS listens to, learns from and acts on complaints and feedback to improve services.

A spokeswoman added: “The vast majority of people who stayed in hospital in 2020 were satisfied with the care they received thanks to the hard work and dedication of our NHS staff."