Thinking about…

By

Jim Thomas

·

I want to make a complaint, but I’m scared.

It’s a short blog this week as I am still recovering from some frankly very poor treatment that I received in hospital. I’m also putting a lot of time into putting together a formal complaint about the medical and nursing team on the ward to which I was admitted.  I won’t go into details, but…

It’s a short blog this week as I am still recovering from some frankly very poor treatment that I received in hospital. I’m also putting a lot of time into putting together a formal complaint about the medical and nursing team on the ward to which I was admitted.  I won’t go into details, but I think making a complaint is extremely important; not because I’m looking to be compensated in any way. I just don’t want what happened to me to happen to anybody else.

It’s very hard to make a complaint against doctors and nurses in the health service. Society holds them up as miracle workers and angels. And yes a lot of what they do is pretty technically amazing.

However, as I have written before, it’s only through our mistakes that we learn to be able to do what we do, better. 

The thing that worries me from my conversations with friends is what sort of  impact my complaint will have on my future care, treatment and support the next time I am admitted to hospital. It may have no effect, but I am sure this is a key part of why people find it so hard to complain about the care and treatment they have received or are receiving. I have witnessed people raising  concerns, asking for support and being seen as awkward and difficult and to be avoided by the nursing and medical team.

However, it’s very important to be brave. It’s not about looking for any recompense or revenge. It’s about looking and learning from what happened and enabling people to adapt their behaviour for the best.

Without complaints when things go wrong, how will things improve?

Wish me luck.

Jim Thomas

July 2025.

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Responses to “I want to make a complaint, but I’m scared.”

  1. Vicki Raphael

    We overlapped you in hospital recently and encountered some very difficult situations.. despite being “ frequent flyers “ and understanding so much about systemic realities.Only a couple of hours into the transition from And E to a decisions unit we were being asked by senior ward staff to make a complaint .I haven’t actioned it as yet as am still grappling with all the disjointed follow on from a less than adequate discharge and frankly a lack of energy to fight on all fronts…. Then there is the fact that every admission throws up do much potential for complaints proceedures….

    Reply
  2. Dudley Simons

    Hi Jim

    its true that NHS care can be exceptional but it can also be borderline negligence as so many of us have found first hand. I had to deal with Gloucester Royal when my wifes elderly aunt (diabetic with dementia) After several weeks as an in patient they discharged her on a Saturday mid afternoon to an empty house with no one to support her and the nearest relative two and a half hours away, not only that but they sent her home with none of her pre prescribed meds, not even a prescription for meds needed that night – an elderly lady with dementia and limited mobility – 50 yards maximum on a good day, and the nearest chemist, an hours walk for a young fit person, on the other side of the valley. I won’t go into any more of their antics here but suffice to say it just got worse and I severely doubt the competency of many of the staff and the phrase ‘fit to practice’ barely covers it. They made North Staffs – home tomany a scandal look pretty slick.

    Having seen other althogether un acceptable care metered out to older patients it does seem that much of the NHS loses interest in you once you get past retirement.

    It just seems bizare that a system that can give some of the finest care available can fall so short, so often.

    Should you complain? Is complain the right word here? What you are doing is offering feedback to help ‘the system’ to do better next time. If no one ever gives that feedback – its groundhog day. The one piece of critical feedback may not change the system, but its guaranteed that no feedback equals no change. If enough people bring systemic shortcomings to light sooner or later – you would hope sooner, something has to happen

    Reply
  3. Rachel

    Firstly, I’m so relieved your recovering Jim. And then, for every person like you, that has the capacity, inclination and support to complain there will a significant number that don’t have the needed aspects.

    We need people to feedback, to highlight issues because it’s only when someone looks at patterns that action will be/can be taken.

    I wonder how many elderly, seriously unwell or bereaved wish they had complained. I know I’m one of the latter on my grandfather’s behalf. But grief is another reason things don’t get addressed.

    Maybe by raising your complaint the service will be better should you ever need it again or you’ll be placed somewhere else or you’ll have the evidence support why you should be.

    Reply

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