I am writing in response to the article “NHS reveals complaints” (The Argus, November 11).

I would echo the comments by Louise Watson from NHS West Sussex that while one complaint is too many, it is important to remember that the overall complaints figure only represents a tiny percentage of the hundreds of thousands of NHS appointments which take place every year across East and West Sussex and in Brighton and Hove.

In addition, I would like to stress that the NHS in Sussex receives a large number of plaudits and compliments.

For example, in East Sussex our patient relations team recorded 657 plaudits during 2008-09, compared to 152 complaints during the same period.

We take every complaint extremely seriously.

All cases are looked into thoroughly and any lessons learned are acted upon and shared across the local NHS.

Feedback from patients and the public is vital in helping us to monitor and improve services, but that feedback can be positive as well as otherwise.

I would urge anyone who would like to make a comment about an NHS service they have used to get in touch with their local Patient Advice and Liaison Service (Pals).

The numbers are East Sussex Pals – 0300 1000891, West Sussex Pals – 0300 1001821 and Brighton and Hove Pals – 0800 0130251.

Lisa Compton
director of assurance and engagement
NHS East Sussex Downs and Weald and NHS Hastings and Rother