Report condemns NHS complaints procedure

An independent study by the Public Law Project, a national legal charity, has identified serious failings in the NHS's complaints procedure and called for urgent reform.

The procedure, introduced in April 1996 after an inquiry by the Department of Health, is a two stage process in which resolution at the local level is attempted initially. If the complainant is still dissatisfied, a convenor decides whether further action is needed: the complaint may be referred back for another attempt at local resolution or it may proceed to an independent review panel.

With funding from the National Lottery Charities Board, researchers from the Public Law Project used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods …