More than 3,000 complaints made against health board over last year

More than 3,000 complaints have been made against Aneurin Bevan University Health Board over the last year, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed.

Of the 3,107 complaints made between June 1, 2022 and May 31, 2023, of which 51 came from the Ombudsman.

It also revealed £4,625 was paid out in compensation during this time period.

Just under a quarter of all complaints made about the health board were in relation to the Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, in which 745 complaints were made.

The hospital opened in late 2020, at a cost of £350m. However, last November it was the subject of a damning report by the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales.

Following an unannounced inspection, the inspectorate said patients were not consistently receiving an acceptable standard of care.

The report found the health board did not have adequate arrangements in place in the department to support the delivery of safe healthcare, and called for urgent improvement.

Speaking in the Senedd in April, Welsh Conservative MS Laura Anne Jones, who represents the South Wales East region, called for “massive changes” at the hospital’s A&E department, which she described as “not fit for purpose in any shape or form”.

There have also been issues surrounding public transport access to the hospital from parts of Caerphilly County Borough. However, the new 21 bus service, run by Stagecoach, began running between the hospital and Blackwood earlier this month.

The FOI request was sent to the health board by Blackwood councillor Kevin Etheridge, who leads the independent group on Caerphilly County Borough Council.

He said: “This is no way a criticism of the staff and nurses who work so hard in our hospitals, who I believe give total commitment – but questions need to be asked why there was over 3,000 complaints in just one year.”

Cllr Etheridge continued: “I shall be writing to the Chief Executive [Nicola Prygodzicz] shortly asking for a meeting to request what processes and procedures they have in place to reduce these complaints.” 

Health board response

A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: “Our aim is always to provide the best possible experience for our patients and their families. We therefore encourage patients to let us know when they feel we have fallen short of this.

“Patient feedback provides us with the opportunity to put things right for them, as well as giving us a chance to learn and identify areas where we can improve our services.”

They continued: “In context of the number of patient interactions during this reporting period, the complaints raised are equal to 0.27% of patient interactions.

“It’s also important to note that as the largest site in the health board area, as well as being within its first few years of operation, the amount of complaints received concerning the Grange University Hospital are relative to its size and number of patient interactions.”

They added: “In order to further improve our Putting Things Right service, we are now focusing on addressing complainants’ issues more quickly by resolving a higher number of concerns early and informally before they develop into formal complaints.

“This is a positive step for the health board.”