Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the internal NHS complaints procedures.

National Health Service organisations must handle complaints in accordance with the standards and processes set out in the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009.

To support good complaint handling, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s NHS Complaint Standards set out how organisations providing NHS services in the NHS should approach complaint handling. The standards place a strong focus on several key aspects of complaint handling, including early resolution and giving fair and accountable responses. They set out practical advice and good practice to help NHS organisations improve.

Through implementation of Fit for the Future: The 10-Year Health Plan for England, we will improve transparency, deliver high-quality care for all, and strengthen patient and staff voice. This includes reform of the NHS complaints process, setting clear standards for both the timeliness and the quality of responses to complaints, as well as ensuring the NHS listens carefully and compassionately, taking forward learning to ensure high quality care. We will also increase the use of artificial intelligence tools to ensure complaints data is collected, and responded to, far more quickly.