NHS Confederation calls for 'careful eye' on complaints

We must keep a careful eye on these complaints. A rise may partly be a result of patients rightly being more assertive in voicing dissatisfaction about their care, or it may be something more substantial.

Employers and individual doctors need to analyse this data and look carefully at the cases where doctors have not met the standards patients expect, and what action they need to take when they fall short.

Every patient should be given the necessary time to discuss healthcare concerns which can often be complex and upsetting.

Worryingly, these figures suggest that this is not always the case."