Unresolved complaints within the NHS are on the increase with a 50% rise in cases where the NHS didn't acknowledge it had made mistakes, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman has said.
There has also been a 60% rise in complaints concerning independent care providers - going from 169 to 272.
Blaming carelessness and poor communication, the ombudsman Julie Mellor said the NHS needed to improve how it dealt with unsatisfied service users. Last year, the ombudsman received 16,333 complaints and looked into 4,399 of them.
Mellor said: "All too often the people who come to us for help are unhappy because of the careless communication, insincere apologies and unclear explanations they've received from the NHS.
"A poor response to a complaint can add to the problems of someone who is unwell, struggling to take care of others or grieving."
She added: "The NHS needs to get better at listening to patients and their families and responding to their concerns."
The health minister Dan Poulter insisted the vast majority of NHS patients were happy with the care they received. However, when things go wrong it would appear that some NHS organisations responded to complaints better than others. "This is something that the NHS must improve," Poulter said.
Julie Bailey of Cure the NHS, said: "The volume of complaints against the NHS, and the harm it implies, remains at a frightening level.
"Years go by and yet the NHS can do nothing but make excuses for their inhumanity and incompetence and carry on torturing complainants. Perhaps the one bright spot is that we now seem to have an ombudsman who will at least speak out a little."
