Number of complaints about GPs and dentists has risen since Covid pandemic

More than 4,000 written complaints have been received by the Black Country and Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Boards in 2022/23, a rise of more than 2,000 from the pre-pandemic financial year 2018/19.

It follows a trend across England, where written complaints made against primary care providers have risen by 35 per cent since 2018/19, largely driven by a 44 per cent increase in the number of complaints made against GPs.

The figures from NHS England show that 2,014 complaints were submitted against GPs, dentists and other primary care services in the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board area in 2022/23, up from 1,927 in 2018/19.

There were also 2,392 complaints submitted against GPs, dentists and other primary care services in the NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board area in 2022/23, up from 1,841 in 2018/19.

Of the resolved cases, 27 per cent were upheld following an investigation.

Nationally, 126,000 complaints were made, up from 120,000 the year before, with 32 per cent of them being upheld, the lowest proportion since comparable records began in 2016-17.

The chair of the Royal College of GPs said the national rise is sad and troubling, but said the family doctor service has withered over the last decade, with no longer enough GPs to meet demand.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne said: "The unfortunate reality is that our hard-working and committed GPs often end up the 'fall guys' for the Government’s failure to appropriately resource and fund primary care.

"Everyone working in general practice is trying to do their very best for their patients, but in increasingly difficult circumstances.

"Our family doctor service has been allowed to wither on the vine for over a decade and we no longer have enough GPs to meet demand."

The Department of Health and Social Care said it is making it easier for patients to see their GP.

Some £240 million of funding has been announced to improve technology in GP surgeries to make it easier for patients to contact them, a spokesperson added.

They said: "We have more than 2,000 additional doctors and 31,000 extra staff than in 2019.

"We are making progress to boost NHS dental services and the number of children seen by NHS dentists rose by 14 per cent last year.

"Compared to the previous year, 1.7 million more adults and 800,000 more children are receiving NHS dental care and further measures to improve access to NHS dentists through our dental recovery plan will be set out shortly."

A spokesman for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board said: "Patient complaints are always taken seriously and investigated.

"If patients have a complaint they should first use the practice’s own complaints process.

"They can also contact our Patient Advice and Liaisons Service (PALS) who can provide support and advice.

"We would always ask patients, whatever their frustrations, to be respectful to staff.

"PALS in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent can be contacted on freephone 0808 196 8861 or patientservices@staffsstoke.icb.nhs.uk"

Mark Axcell, chief executive officer for the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, said: “Primary care teams across the Black Country are working harder than ever to ensure patients get the care they need whilst the demand for GP services continues to increase.

“We always want our patients to have the best experience possible and having patient feedback is crucial in helping us to deliver what patients need.

"Anyone who wishes to make a complaint should contact their provider where they received the NHS service or contact the Black Country ICBs Time2Talk team.

“We are determined to improve patients' experience and access to primary care which is why we have extended access to appointments for evenings and weekends, we are working to increase the range of healthcare professionals working in primary care to support GPs, we are upgrading GP telephone systems and are making better use of digital alternatives where appropriate."