People cutting NHS staff some slack during Covid leads to drop in complaints at Northampton General Hospital

NHS chiefs believe patients recognising pressure on NHS staff during the Covid-19 pandemic is behind a drop in complaints to Northampton General Hospital last year.

But a healthcare watchdog warns the fall in the number of complaints nationally is not a reflection of patient satisfaction as patients were accessing care less often to avoid putting pressure on the NHS.

NHS England figures show Northampton General Hospital received 331 written complaints in 2020-21 — down from 527 the year before, and fewer than the 574 received in 2018-19.

Complaints were most often about patients aged 75 and and over with 91 lodged last year accounting for nearly one-third of all those where an age was known.

There were also seven complaints about infants younger than five.

An NGH spokesperson said: “Working through the pandemic has been a tremendously challenging period for our staff and we believe local people fully understand that and have given us lots of support – and that may be a factor in the reduction in complaints.

"NHS England Improvement also made a recommendation for a three-month national pause on complaints which the trust implemented and would also account for a reduction.

"This allowed our clinical staff to provide front line care to those that needed it the most during an unprecedented time.

“We try very hard through our wards and departments, and our PALS service, to resolve difficult issues with families before they get to the stage of formal complaints.

"We would always encourage anyone with concerns to do this first. If a complaint cannot be quickly resolved we will work with the complainants to fully investigate any issues raised.”

But Louise Ansari, national director at the independent health and social care champion Healthwatch England, 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 or with a learning disability stopped getting communication support or information in formats they were before the pandemic.

"The Department of Health and NHS England should focus on creating a culture of learning from people’s feedback."

Communication – such as how decisions are explained or whether treatment implications are made clear enough – was the most common reason for complaint nationally, and the same was true at NGH.

The issue was responsible for 85 written complaints last year – 50 percent of all those where a subject area was listed.

Hospital and community health services across England received 83,899 complaints in 2020-21, a drop of 26 percent from 2019-20.

Rob Behrens, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman responsible for investigating complaints, admitted it is hard to know exactly why numbers have dropped said but Covid 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."