PATIENTS in Northumberland feel complaints about the NHS fall on deaf ears.

As part of a national review of NHS hospitals, watchdog Healthwatch England reported that just 38 per cent of NHS hospitals are reporting on any action taken in response to complaints raised by patients and their loved ones.

More locally, Healthwatch Northumberland said that patients revealed they thought NHS staff were too busy to co-ordinate effective care plans.

The review links back to the damning Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust inquiry which highlighted a poor level of care across the trust between 2005 and 2009.

Healthwatch was now calling for leadership to support hospitals to effectively communicate how they were learning from complaints.

Sir Robert Francis QC, the chairman of the organisation, said: “Lots has changed about the health service since the Mid-Staffs review concluded, but there is still much to do if the NHS is to become truly transparent. Complaints in particular has been an area of slow progress. The public expects the NHS to learn from mistakes and to be honest about what needs to change, but to know this is happening, people also need to see the evidence.

“Hospitals and national health organisations need to demonstrate greater leadership and show how they are learning from incidents.”