Integral to clinical governance

Effective after-event and after-complaint management will ensure that each case is fully investigated with clear explanations being given to complainants. It will also assist in identifying lessons to be learned from complaints, and in implementing any remedial action. The designated board member is expected to link the complaints procedure with clinical governance processes, and risk management strategies.

Each NHS body must prepare a report for each quarter of the year for consideration by its Board which

• specifies the numbers of complaints received
• identifies the subject matter of those complaints
• summarises how they were handled including the outcome of the investigation
• identifies any complaints where the recommendations of the Healthcare Commission were not acted upon, giving the reasons why not.

The Healthcare Commission with its wide remit of promoting better standards in health care is in a position to ensure that complaints are not seen as one-off incidents but that organisations learn from them. The Healthcare Commission will also promote feedback from complaints to improve NHS services through its inspection and review processes. It will analyse both the substance of complaints and any recommendations made, in order to identify any common characteristics. This will inform the Healthcare Commission's role of inspection and assessing performance. There will be mechanisms to identify recurring issues or clusters of complaints against a particular clinician or department.

Complaints handling will be reviewed by the Healthcare Commission

Reviews of an organisation’s complaints handling will form part of the Healthcare Commission’s overall assessment of performance.

Training on complaints

Better training is planned which will enable all staff and non-executives of NHS trusts, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities to deal with someone wishing to make a complaint.

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