East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust Complaints Review 2023

The local Healthwatch worked with volunteer reivewers to check a random sample of complaints from the East Sussex Healthcare Trust (ESHT) and assess how the process was handled.

The volunteer reviewers examined a random selection of 25 complaints received by ESHT and scrutinised each for adherence to the specified process set out by ESHT. All activity was dealt with in the strictest confidence and the subject of the complaint was not open to scrutiny. 

This review of ESHT complaints took place in March 2023 and covered complaints from Urgent Care and Medicine. This was a pilot activity which will be refined and rolled out to other divisions within ESHT later in 2023.

 

There were six recommendations within the report:

1. HWES should share this report and its findings with ESHT and Healthwatch England as well as publish this report on their website for the public to access.

2. HWES and ESHT will work together to deliver a rolling review of complaints  processes to ensure that these are robust, patient-centric and that all divisions are following the same guidelines. A different division within the Trust  will be reviewed each year.

3. HWES will support ESHT to ensure that they better communicate to each  complainant how their individual complaint will be used as a learning tool or to effect change within service delivery and be able to evidence this.

4. The Trust should make sure it communicates with complainants regularly to  keep complainants involved and informed in every step of the complaints process and ensure that all communications are easily available in alternative, accessible formats, in line with the NHS accessible information standards.

5. The Trust should ensure it makes clear to complainants at the outset of any complaint, that the complaints process is an impartial one and that their complaint will in no way affect their current, ongoing, or future care. 

6. The Trust should monitor how they implement changes to service delivery  as a result of a complaint and ensure that they are able to evidence any outcomes from that change to external stakeholders.

There is a response from the Trust involved to this piece at the end of the report addressing points 4 and 5.