Hospital trusts receive thousands of complaints
Thousands of complaints were made against hospital trusts across the Black Country and Staffordshire last year, new figures show.
Patients complained about the service they received 2,655 times in 2018, a marked increase on the number of complaints in 2015.
Health experts believe the number of complaints have risen as the pressure increases on the crisis-hit NHS.
Across the region complaints ranged from treatment received in hospital to concerns over how appointments are handled.
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust received the most complaints last year with 728.
The trust, which runs both City Hospital in Birmingham and Sandwell General Hospital, upheld or partially upheld 63 per cent of the complaints, with the remainder deemed to be unsubstantiated, frivolous or vexatious.
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs both County Hospital in Stafford and Royal Stoke Hospital, received 668 complaints in 2018.
A total of 71 per cent of complaints were upheld or partially upheld.
Across the rest of Black Country, Dudley NHS Trust received 524 complaints, Wolverhampton NHS Trust 399 and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust 336.
Dudley upheld or partially upheld 46 per cent of complaints, compared with Wolverhampton's 51 per cent and Walsall's 53 per cent.
Across the UK, hospital trusts recorded 76,500 complaints in 2018, up from 57,000 in 2015.
NHS Improvement said this rise is in part because of improvements to the complaints process, but concerns have been raised that some under-funded trusts may be struggling to resolve complaints.
Dr Nick Scriven, the Society for Acute Medicine's president, said: "You feel for staff under incredible pressure, doing their best but knowing it won't please everyone.
"However, it is vital trusts engage openly with and seek to learn from the complaints process itself, and take appropriate action on complaints that are upheld."
Patients' rights group Healthwatch said its members complain because they want to improve quality of care in the future.
Policy head Jacob Lant said: "Rather than just counting the number of complaints, what people want to see is what the NHS has changed as a result.
"This is the best way to build confidence in the complaints process, and show the public that the NHS is always willing to learn."
