Brighton and Hove health watchdog urges patients not to suffer in silence

A Brighton and Hove health watchdog is urging dissatisfied patients to point out problems so that the NHS improves for everyone.

Healthwatch Brighton and Hove said that a report, called Suffering in Silence, had been published by Healthwatch England.

The report reviews health and social care complaints systems and has called for change to ensure a compassionate complaints system that resolves issues quickly and effectively.

Almost one in three people across England personally experienced or saw a relative or friend receive poor quality care at some point in the past year, Healthwatch said.

But two thirds of people didn’t complain about it.

The figures could be much higher, Healthwatch said, if more data was available about local social care services, including residential care homes and community care support.

Patients said that the main reason they would complain would be to prevent others having to suffer.

But they said that they didn’t because the complaints system was too complicated, took too much effort and they felt that their feedback wouldn’t make any difference.

To address these issues, Healthwatch England made several recommendations such as a 72-hour maximum response time for all complaints.

Responses would acknowledge the complainant’s experience, outline the next steps and, when appropriate, provide an apology.

To ensure medics and health bosses hear about and learn from complaints, Healthwatch England has made help and information available on the Healthwatch Brighton and Hove website www.healthwatchbrightonandhove.co.uk.

To tackle this issue locally, Healthwatch Brighton and Hove offers an independent information and signposting service on its website.

It also runs a helpline to help people find their way through the local complaints system.

And it is working with the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) to offer independent advocacy support.

Frances McCabe, who chairs Healthwatch Brighton and Hove, said: “I urge people to feel confident about making a complaint where they have a poor experience.

“If services do not know about the problems, they will persist.

“Locally many agencies can help you make your complaint but if you are not sure where to turn to, do contact the Healthwatch Brighton and Hove Helpline.

“We want to hear your concerns and we can act to help you.”

The helpline number operates from 10am to noon Monday to Friday on 01273 234040. The email address is help@healthwatchbrightonandhove.co.uk.

To contact ICAS, phone 01273 229002 or email info@bh-icas.org.

Both of these services are encouraging people to speak out about their experiences and stress that even negative feedback is welcome by health bosses.

In addition, Healthwatch Brighton and Hove’s volunteer hospital complaints peer reviewers are working with the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust on improving its responses to complaints.

The trust runs the Royal Sussex County Hospital, the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and the Sussex Eye Hospital in Brighton among other services.

There is also lots of useful information on complaints services published in the free Healthwatch magazine and through the social media.