Data on Written Complaints in the NHS, 2021-22

This publication is a count of written complaints made by (or on behalf of) patients, received between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022 in England.

Data are collected via two forms; the quarterly KO41a for HCHS, and the annual KO41b for Primary Care (GP and Dental) services. Data relates to the complaints arrangements introduced in April 2009.

KO41a: The KO41a (HCHS) data collection was revised in both format and frequency (from annual to quarterly) in 2015-16. This means only national totals are comparable from 2015-16 onwards. From 2022-23 onwards the KO41a will move to an annual collection and publication frequency.

KO41b: From 2020-21 the KO41b data collection method and content were revised following a consultation (see below). The KO41b data is made up of three parts:

1. Complaints made to GP practices – collected by NHS Digital and labelled as GP in data tables.
2. Complaints made to Dental practices – collected by the NHS Business Services Authority and labelled as Dental in data tables
3. Complaints made directly to NHS England about primary care services and labelled as NHS England in data tables

The KO41b data has been collected from individual practices since 2013-14 and response rates for 2021-22 are 87% for GP and 78% for Dental practices which are broadly similar to 2020-21. Caution is advised when considering the timeline of response rates for the KO41b due to the different factors which have affected this return in recent years.

Consultation

To ensure that the KO41b collection is delivering the maximum amount of value for the minimum burden on NHS organisations, NHS Digital carried out a consultation in early 2021 while the collection was paused. The questions asked, responses received and subsequent actions can be found here. Acting on feedback received, the following changes were made;

• Reducing the number of Age Categories a patient can be reported under
• Reducing the Patient Status categories options
• Removing the Service Area category from the return
• Moving from the spreadsheet-based system used in 2018-19 to an online collection method from 2020-21

Please see the Data Quality section for more information.

Further Information

Guidance and information regarding the KO41a and KO41b complaints collections are available on the NHS Digital website.

This publication and previous editions are on the NHS Digital website. To inform and improve future reports contact us with your comments, clearly stating ‘Data on Written Complaints, England’ as the subject heading, via:

Email:  [email protected]  Telephone: 0300 303 5678