Mind: Reforms are insufficient

Reforms to the health and social care complaints system are insufficient to address serious complaints on mental health wards, according to Mind.

The government claims that the new system will be more user-friendly and will help organisations to effectively deal with concerns.

But the mental health charity Mind says the changes do not go far enough in simplifying the complaint process for people with mental health problems.

Mind's policy officer Emily Wooster said extra measures need to be taken to protect these people due to the "restricted environment of inpatient wards and the vulnerability of patients".

"Special measures should be in place such as supporting people with mental health problems to provide good evidence, allowing people to report incidents to an independent third party and offering patients a safe place to tell their story," she explained.

"There must also be more accessible, transparent information about complaints procedures on every mental health ward."

Ms Wooster added: "Victims of crime or mistreatment in hospitals need to have confidence that their complaint will be acted on. Sadly, a culture of disbelief and disempowerment exists on some mental health wards allowing complaints to be ignored and incidents to go unnoticed.

"There needs to be more than just a change to procedures, we also need to see a change in culture and professional attitudes and this will take serious investment in training and education.

"Mind is also concerned about the reduced role of the Healthcare Commission under the new system and the subsequent increase in complaints that will be referred to the ombudsman. We need to be sure that the ombudsman has sufficient resource to manage these."