Data on Written Complaints in the NHS, 2023-24

This publication is a count of written complaints made by (or on behalf of) patients, received between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 in England.

Data are collected via two forms: the KO41a for HCHS, and KO41b for Primary Care (GP and Dental) services. Both are collected annually and relate to the complaints arrangements introduced in April 2009.

KO41a: The KO41a (HCHS) data collection was revised in frequency (from quarterly to annual) for the 2022-23 collection year. This change of frequency does not affect the comparability of the data from 2015-16 onwards. Data prior to this are not considered comparable due to format changes in the return.

KO41b: The KO41b data is made up of three parts:

1. Complaints made to General practices – collected by NHS England 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 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) about primary care services they commission and labelled as 'ICB' in data tables. This section of the return was previously completed by NHS England. Please see the Data Quality section for further information.

The KO41b data has been collected from individual practices since 2013-14 and response rates for 2023-24 are 89% for GP and 84% for Dental practices. Caution is advised when considering the response rates for the KO41b due to the different factors which have affected this return in recent years.

Further Information

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

This publication and previous editions are on the NHS England 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