Rise in written complaints against Bradford District Care Trust and Airedale Hospital

Data released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) shows that the trust received 102 complaints in 2014/15, up 28 per cent from 80 the previous year.

Of the 102 complaints, 46 were classified as upheld, up from 33 in 2013/14.

Around three-quarters of the complaints, 74, were made in relation to mental health services coordinated by the trust, which provides in-patient services at Lynfield Mount Hospital in Bradford and the Airedale Centre for Mental Health.

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The trust responded by stating 25 complaints involved services provided by external organisations, but Healthwatch England, the national health and social care patient watchdog, said only a fifth of people who had experienced poor care tended to take the time to complain in writing.

Nicola Lees, deputy chief executive and director of nursing at the trust, said: "We always encourage patients, service users and carers to tell us when they are not happy.

"We see this as a way of being able to continually improve our services.

"Last year we reviewed our patient and carer information and made new material more widely available, to make it easier for people to talk to us.

"Of the 102 complaints we received, five were withdrawn or resolved locally by managers, and 25 involved services provided by other organisations as well as our own, which we have counted in our figures.

"We would never try and deter someone from talking to us either at service level, or through our complaints process.

"We welcome feedback as this tells us that people feel comfortable raising their concerns directly with us.

"Often there are several elements to a person’s complaint. When one element is found not to be meeting the high standards we set we will uphold the complaint."

Complaints made against the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, responsible for Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's, received 550 complaints during 2014/15, down slightly from 553 the previous year.

The trust's interim chief nurse, Jackie Ardley, said: "Of the 550 formal complaints, 258 were upheld, which equates to 0.03 per cent of the 800,000 patient contacts the trust had during this period.

"We actively encourage feedback and try to resolve any concerns at the time that they are raised through our matrons or through our patient advice and liaison service.

"Each complaint is fully investigated and each complainant receives a written response and explanation along with details of any action taken.

"We embrace the opportunity to learn from our patients, as only by listening to the people who use our services can we continually improve and develop the care we offer."

Meanwhile, written complaints to the NHS trust in charge of Airedale General Hospital have risen by more than 40 per cent over the past year.

The data shows that Airedale NHS Foundation Trust received 103 complaints in 2014/15, up from 73 the previous year, an increase of 41 per cent.

Acute services received by inpatients at the hospital attracted the most complaints with 48, with a further 20 criticising its accident and emergency department, and 14 complaining about geriatric care.

The Trust responded by stating that only nine per cent of the claims were ultimately upheld, but Healthwatch England, the national health and social care patient watchdog, said only a fifth of people who had experienced poor care tended to take the time to complain in writing.

In response to the figures, Elaine Andrews, assistant director for patient safety at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We value and encourage all feedback, and take every concern or complaint extremely seriously.

"Out of 103 complaints we received in 2014/15, nine percent were upheld.

"Only 0.53 per cent of people who used our services or experienced care during 2014/15 had cause to contact either the complaints service or patient, advice and liaison service with issues or concerns affecting them, and this percentage includes the number of formal complaints to the trust.

"This is a decrease on the 0.58 per cent from 2013/14 despite the increase in patient activity.

"This increase in activity, besides people having a better knowledge of the complaint process following publication of the Francis report, is likely to have added to the rise in complaints we have seen this year."

A total of 120,778 written complaints were made across England during the year, up from 114,300 in 2013/14, but Healthwatch England said the HSCIC figures "didn't tell the full story."

Anna Bradley, chairman of the organisation, said: "As many as five times this number of people actually want to complain but they don't know how to, or don’t think it is worthwhile taking the time to.

"There is something deeply wrong with a complaints system that is putting people off from raising their concerns."

A spokesman for Healthwatch in Bradford added: "It’s vitally important that people know how to speak out when things go wrong in health or social care, and that they have the confidence that it will make a difference.

"Figures from HSCIC show that in some local trusts more people are making complaints, and providing valuable feedback that will enable the trusts to improve their services.

"But we know that the experience of making a complaint can often be difficult and stressful."

Naz Shah, Labour MP for Bradford West, described the HSCIC figures as "worrying", adding that they coincided with concerns raised by constituents during her weekly surgeries.

She added that she had arranged meetings with organisations such as the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to discuss how complaints could be addressed and reduced.

"It has to be noted that on the whole our NHS staff provide excellent care and support, and I know that the organisations mentioned are undergoing huge changes in developing new services and provision," she said.

"I’d like to know how NHS providers are working with Bradford Healthwatch and its excellent work at engaging the public in service improvement.

"It is worrying to see that the budget of Healthwatch Bradford has been cut, and there is increasing financial pressures being placed on our local NHS services."

Keighley MP Kris Hopkins was unavailable for comment, but Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley, said: "It is always disappointing that people have had such a poor experience that they feel the need to make a written compliant, but what is crucial is that the complaints are used positively to make sure that any problems are addressed and that the organisations concerned do not get defensive about the criticisms being made."

Imran Hussain, Labour MP for Bradford East, added: "We are seeing rising waiting times, medical staff being pushed to breaking point, and hospitals left under resourced, leaving patients unsatisfied with the level of care that they receive.

"I will be seeking assurances from the Department for Health that measures are being taken to alleviate this crisis and deliver the standard of healthcare in Bradford that people expect."