More people becoming satisfied with Dorset County Hospital as complaint numbers drop

Figures released in the Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust's annual complaints report shows that the number of formal complaints over the last five years had dropped by 40 per cent from 428 in 2013/14 to 255 in 2017/18.

The majority of the complaints came from the lack of patient consent, communication and confidentiality at the hospital while 37 of those were related to the lack of adequate access or admission to the hospital or slow transfer or discharge times.

Alongside this, 55 were related to a treatment or a procedure which they had received while 30 were related to patient care which included ongoing monitoring and review.

Of the 255 complaints which were received in the financial year, the trust had failed to meet its target of resolving 95 per cent in any of the months of 2017/18 with the highest rating being 80 per cent in April 2017 and the lowest of 26 per cent in May 2017.

In response to the figures, DCH said: "Each formal complaint is treated as well-founded in order to investigate and a response is provided to the complainant outlining the findings of the investigation.

"All feedback, concerns and complaints are co-ordinated centrally and upon receipt are screened and triaged according to the seriousness of the issues raised.

They also added that they adopted a new complaints procedure (below) which was introduced in November 2017 that aimed to deal with complaints more effectively within 25 days.

However, the report admitted that they failed to meet the timescale required.

DCH, added: "It was disappointing this year to observe no improvement in the timeliness of complaint responses despite reviewing the Complaints Policy.

"We believe that when our patients or their families have cause to complain, the response they receive should be within an agreed timescale and acknowledge the experience of the patient through their own eyes."