Foundation trusts slammed over data

Foundation trusts slammed over data

The number of foundation trusts not submitting data on NHS complaints has risen in the last year, figures have shown.
Foundation trusts have more freedom than other trusts, including around control of finances.
Latest data from the NHS Information Centre shows 29 foundation trusts across England did not submit any data on complaints for 2010/11, up from 18 in the previous year.
Foundation trusts are not compelled to submit data but can do so voluntarily. Wednesday's report looked at just over 148,000 written complaints about the health service in 2010/11. Overall, there was a 2.4% (3,700) decrease in complaints compared with the previous year.
The subject most complained about was "all aspects of clinical treatment", which accounted for 44% of complaints (43,200), slightly up on the previous year.
Patients Association chief executive Katherine Murphy said: "This issue strikes at the heart of this Government's agenda for reform. The current plan is for all trusts to become foundation trusts and gain 'independence'. We need to make sure there are the right safeguards in place.
"You can have local management, local involvement, local anything you want. But if local people do not have access to data to enable them to make comparisons then it is a waste of time. We absolutely recognise that this data has its limitations, but that needs to be addressed nationally with proper performance measures."
Frances Blunden, senior policy manager at the NHS Confederation, said: "It is essential NHS organisations and individual staff make every effort to learn from when things go wrong and NHS trusts deal with patients' concerns promptly, effectively and appropriately. This is an important part of offering high quality, safe healthcare."
NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said: "Data about 148,200 complaints was submitted to this report, but I would encourage all foundation trusts to report their complaints to us so that future reports can tell the complex story based on information from every trust."
Paul Hodgkin, chief executive of the website Patient Opinion, which enables patients to comment on their NHS experience, said: "We believe that the fact that so many trusts have refused to supply data on complaints means that this report simply cannot be treated as an accurate indicator of how well the NHS is performing."