The Independent report:
A new “one-stop” NHS customer helpline has a backlog of more than 3,000 unresolved complaints about GPs and dentists dating back to April, it was revealed today, as officials admitted the new service had not been equipped to cope with the volume of complaints and inquiries it received.
NHS England said that the problems at the Customer Contact Centre in Redditch – set up earlier this year to provide a single national contact point for inquiries, complaints and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests – had now been resolved, with more staff taken on and complex complaints passed on more quickly to local NHS officials.
However, there are still more than 1,100 complaints awaiting action and nearly 2,200 that have not yet been resolved. NHS England apologised “unreservedly” to those whose complaints and inquiries have gone unanswered.