§ Mr. KennedyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to monitor and assess the operational procedure of district health authorities' complaints systems and publish their findings.
§ Mr. DorrellDirections on hospital complaints procedures made under section 17 of the National Health Service Act 1977 and issued to health authorities in June 1988, included a requirement for health authorities to monitor the arrangements made for dealing with complaints in the hospitals for which they are responsible. The directions also require quarterly reports to be made for use by the health authority to monitor progress on the procedure for dealing with complaints, for considering trends in complaints and for taking remedial action on complaints as approriate. There are no plans to amend these arrangements.