Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to Written Question 217624 on NHS: Complaints, whether his Department plans to make publicly available the reviews of the Patient Advice and Liaison Service and NHS Complaints Advocacy arrangements which were envisaged to be completed by spring 2015.

In January 2015 a limited review was conducted in respect of NHS Advocacy Services but this was not published because the Department took the view that local authority commissioning arrangements should drive the accessibility and quality of advocacy services.

The Department has also sought to improve the information available locally for patients on how to complain, including by publishing a national advice guide, providing templates for posters on every hospital ward and, through Healthwatch England working with Citizens Advice, ensured there is accurate information online about how to complain.

The Department’s Feedback Improvement Partnership work programme includes examining the support and information available locally for patients on how to complain if they are dissatisfied with NHS services. This includes support provided by both the Patient Advice and Liaison Service and NHS Complaints Advocacy Services.