December 2023 the Welsh Ombudsman published Complaints Standards data for 2023/24
During 2023/24 the Wales Ombudsman received 7,287 new cases – of which only 2,395 became duly made complaints.
The data shows that just under 10,000 complaints were received by Welsh Health Boards and Trusts in the first half of 23/24; this is the equivalent of about 6 complaints for every 1,000 residents of Wales*. These complaint volumes are slightly lower than the first half of last financial year.
Records show that 26% of complaints recorded by Health Boards and Trusts were about Clinical Treatment/Assessment, 21% were about appointments, and 13% were about communication issues.
The data shows that about 70% of complaints were closed within the target of 30 working days – this is lower than the same period last year, meaning complainants seem to be waiting longer for a response from Health Boards and Trusts this year.
483 complaints relating to Health Boards and Trusts were referred to us in the year, which represents about 5% of all complaints closed in the same period – this is almost identical to the same period last year.
The number of complaints referred gives context to both Health complaints data and cases about Health Boards and Trusts handled by us.
We closed 500 complaints about Health Boards and Trusts in the first half of 23/24. Some of those complaints would have been referred to the office during the previous financial year.
We intervened in 30% of those cases, by recommending Early Resolution**, Voluntary Settlement, or upholding a complaint after an investigation. This is broadly consistent with previous years.
Full report on the link https://www.ombudsman.wales/published-statistics/
