HEALTH CARE COMPLAINTS CONTINUE TO INCREASE – SYSTEM UNDER ENORMOUS PRESSURE DUE TO CUTS

Complaints to the Health Care Complaints Commission have reached an all-time high – showing the State and Federal government health cuts have affected the health and hospital system in NSW and put the whole system under enormous pressure.

Shadow Health Minister Walt Secord said that almost half of people making complaints to the Health Care Complaints Commission about the health system had discontinued their complaints. Almost half (46.7 per cent) of people are still discontinuing complaints to the Health Care Complaints Commission.

This morning, the Health Care Complaints Commission released its annual report. It showed that for the seventh consecutive year in which the Health Care Complaints Commission has received an increasing number of complaints.

In the 2014-15 reporting period, the Commission received 10,390 inquiries and 5,266 written complaints.

In the last year, there has been a 10.5 per cent increase in written complaints.

Over the last five years, written complaints have increased by 28.3 per cent from 4,101 to 5,266.

Mr Secord said he supported a strong and independent Health Care Complaints Commission.

The Baird Government had an obligation to ensure that the Health Care Complaints Commission was properly resourced to handle the “avalanche” of complaints from the community.

It also had a responsibility to reduce the number of patients dropping complaints due to the protracted nature of the process.

While the Baird Government has promised additional funding to handle the increase, this has not eventuated and has not turned into more staff to handle inquiries.

Quotes attributable to Shadow Minister for Health Walt Secord

“In NSW, patients wait at every stage. They wait for an ambulance. They wait outside hospital to get into the emergency department. They wait for a hospital bed and then they are rushed out of the hospital before they are fully recovered. Now, if they have a complaint, they have to wait a long time to have a hearing of their grievances.”

“This shows what happens when you tear $3 billion out of the health system.”

“We need a strong Health Care Complaints Commission to investigate complaints and look after the interests of patients in a health system stretched to the limit.”

“With complaints are on the rise, the Health Care Complaints Commission must be properly resourced and funded to ensure quality healthcare system is operating in NSW.”