Our response to 'Culture change in the NHS' report

The report, ‘Culture change in the NHS’ shows some achievements since Sir Robert Francis’s public inquiry into Mid Staffs, and highlights areas where further action is needed to ensure that safe, effective and compassionate care is the norm.

In response to the report, our Chief Executive, Katherine Rake, said:

"Two years on from the Francis Inquiry into Mid-staffs and the systemic failings it unearthed, here we are with yet another major report that points to serious culture issues across the NHS and care services in facing up to mistakes.

"In a system that seems willing to ignore and even discredit its own peers when they come forward with concerns, what chance do patients stand of making their voices heard?

"Whilst the Government's own report today points to some improvements on complaints, progress simply hasn't been fast enough for those being failed by our hospitals, GP surgeries and care homes.

"What we need is a complete overhaul of the complaints system that ensures every incident is reported and learnt from, and that those affected are treated with the dignity and compassion they deserve."

“We believe that each local Healthwatch should provide a strong voice for their local population, helping to shape an effective local health and care system. The Healthwatch network is therefore currently co-developing standards setting out what people can expect from their local Healthwatch and Healthwatch England will support local Healthwatch to meet these expectations.”

"We wholeheartedly agree that there needs to be transparency about funding for local Healthwatch. We have therefore published information about the amount invested by local authorities (£33.4m) in local Healthwatch.

“Our discovery of a missing £10m that Government had originally made available for local Healthwatch is hugely disappointing. Less than 4p out of every £10,000 spent on health and social care was allocated to championing the cause of consumers in the first place, even this tiny amount is failing to reach those charged with speaking out on behalf of their local communities.

“While we are grateful that the Minister has recently written to councils reflecting on their support to ensure local Healthwatch will be sufficiently resourced to deliver their statutory responsibilities, we remain committed to making sure that there is transparency about local Healthwatch funding. We are therefore monitoring the risk of local Healthwatch not being resourced sufficiently to deliver their statutory functions.”