PATIENT complaints dropped by nearly 23 per cent at the Great Western Hospital last year – yet the trust still received the third highest number of written complaints in the region.

In 2013-2014, the trust dealt with 360 complaints compared to 466 lodged the previous year.

This made up nearly 14 per cent of all written complaints filed with hospitals in Bath, Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire.

The largest number received was 836 by Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust, followed by Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Trust with 365.

The majority revolved around waiting times and delays. Others regarded food standards and limited parking.

While a relatively small number considering the 1.5m treated in that time period, the hospital said they take on board each and every complaint.

“Every trust works out the complaints system differently so the number of complaints for each trust is not really comparable,” said head of customer service Rob Mauler.

“Our complaints were about things like waiting times and delays so about communication. It’s about us talking to people and managing their expectations and thinking about what the customer needs to know.

“If a nurse or doctor had said to a patient ‘you will be discharged today but this may take a while, they will know what to expect. Ward staff don’t always communicate enough with patients. It’s about empowering staff.

“We are not going to get every single thing right for every person but we have an open process where we say, we can get this right and we can learn from a complaint.”

Low complaint numbers are not necessarily a positive sign and can indicate that patients are afraid to report concerns or do not know how to.

“We want to hear what more and more patients think of our services and you could argue that a reduction in complaints is a bad thing because we want people to feel that we are accessible and that they can talk to us,” he added.

“If you get low numbers of complaints it’s likely patients are scared to make a complaint and feel that there is going to be a black mark next to their name on their record. And that’s totally incorrect. Or they don’t know how to make a complaint.”

To ensure patients and their families know how to lodge a complaint or give feedback, the team has launched a pocket guide listing all relevant contacts and services. To find out more visit gwh.nhs.uk/contact-us/, call 01793 604031 or email customer.service@gwh.nhs.uk