COMPLAINTS to the ambulance service have reduced by nearly a third, according to new figures.
Data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre reveal the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) received 798 complaints in 2013/14; down 32% from 1,177 in 2012/13. This compares to an increase across ambulance services generally.
Compliments from patients and their families continue to rise, remaining higher than the number of complaints. In 2013/14, the Trust received 1,389 compliments praising the work of staff and the service, 16% up from 1,193 the previous year.
With the Trust handling more than 912,000 emergency calls in 2013/14 and 774,000 non-emergency patient transport journeys, it works out that the Trust receives a complaint in only 0.05% of cases or one complaint for every 2,112 patient contacts.
Chief Executive Officer Dr Anthony Marsh, said: “We have been working hard to improve our service to patients and this is another encouraging sign that things are getting better. As we recruit hundreds of new frontline staff, as well as up skill our existing staff the service and response to patients will continue to improve.
“We welcome comments, and it is pleasing that the number of people thanking us for the service we provided has risen whilst complaints have fallen. This is thanks to the hard work and dedication of our staff, who work exceptionally hard often in the most difficult circumstances. I am very proud of our staff that are working exceptionally hard to improve the service."
For more on patient feedback about the Trust, you can visit our patient survey pages here: http://www.eastamb.nhs.uk/patient-experience-reports-and-activity.htm
