Only six of 200 NHS private units signed up to complaints watchdog

Just six of the English NHS’s more than 200 private patient units (PPUs) are signed up to the independent complaints adjudicator, HSJ has learned.

The figures follow the publication of the Paterson Inquiry earlier this month. The inquiry’s report warned patients treated in private units, including PPUs, which are not regulated by the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS) “will not have access to independent investigation or adjudication of their complaint”.

ISCAS is the main independent adjudicator for the private healthcare sector and takes on approximately 125 adjudications each year on unresolved patient complaints. Most standalone independent providers have signed up to the watchdog. However, ISCAS membership is not mandatory and it is concerned patients wishing to complain about care at PPUs will have little choice but to pursue costly legal action. 

The government is now considering the inquiry’s recommendation that all private patients are given the right to a mandatory independent resolution of their complaint.

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Source: HSJ, 26 February 2020