Patient complaints at hospital since 2013 (FOI)

Request

A

How many complaints there have been from patients at the hospital (all departments) in the last year and for the last ten years? 

B

For each of those years, please provide a breakdown of the departments that was the focus of the complaint? 

C

For each of those years, please provide a breakdown by classification of the complaint made? 

D

For each of those years, please provide a breakdown of any action taken or how the complaint was dealt with?

Response

A to C

Please note that a number of Freedom of Information responses have been published to www.gov.je in respect of complaints made to Health and Community Services (HCS).

Complete annual data is available for complaints received by HCS from 2010 to 2016 (inclusive) in a Freedom of Information response published to www.gov.je in May 2017:

Complaints against health services (FOI)

Data is also available in respect of the classification and category of complaints received by HCS from 2018 to March 2023 in a Freedom of Information response published to www.gov.je in April 2023:

Health and Community Services complaints (FOI)

As this information is available elsewhere, Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

The remaining data requested is available in the attached tables:

Complaints by Department 2017 to 2022.pdf

Complaints by Category 2017.pdf

Annual complaints data is now produced for the Health and Community Services Quality Accounts. Complaints data for 2023 will be available in the next iteration, due for publication the first quarter of 2024. Article 36 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

D

It is not possible to provide a breakdown of the actions taken in response to complaints, as these will be particular to the complaint. This is not something that can be categorised, nor reported out of the complaints log system. Undertaking a manual analysis of the complaints log would exceed the timescales prescribed in the Freedom of Information (Costs) (Jersey) Regulations 2014. Therefore, Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.  

Furthermore, as actions and outcomes will be peculiar to the complaint, reporting these carries the potential for individuals to be identifiable. Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law has been applied.

Articles applied

Article 16 - A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive

(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations. 

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.

Article 25 - Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.

Article 36 - Information intended for future publication

(1) Information is qualified exempt information if, at the time when the request for the

information is made, the information is being held by a public authority with a view to its being published within 12 weeks of the date of the request.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground

must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant –

(a) of the date when the information will be published;

(b) of the manner in which it will be published; and

(c) by whom it will be published.

(3) In this Article, “published” means published –

(a) by a public authority; or

(b) by any other person.

Public Interest Test

Article 36 is a qualified exemption and, as such, Health and Community Services (HCS) has conducted a prejudice test as required by law to determine whether, on balance, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Public interest considerations favouring disclosure:

• Disclosure of the information would support transparency and promote accountability to the general public.

Public interest considerations favouring withholding the information:

• It is reasonable for a Scheduled Public Authority to publish reports in an orderly manner, following completion of appropriate internal processes. Publishing in advance, and in such close proximity to the expected publication date, would potentially undermine the orderly publication and conduct of work (when the public benefit of earlier publication under the Law would derive limited benefit).