Healthwatch in Greater Manchester has written to NHS Greater Manchester (NHS GM) to raise serious concerns about the accessibility and equity of its Patient Services complaints process.
This follows growing evidence both locally and nationally that many people find it difficult to raise concerns about NHS care or to navigate formal complaints routes.
The correspondence builds on the findings of Healthwatch England’s report, A Pain to Complain, which found that few people formally complain due to lack of confidence in the process, limited visibility of advocacy support, and dissatisfaction with how complaints are handled.
What Healthwatch in Greater Manchester Raised
Our letter (July 2025) set out six key areas for improvement to make the Patient Services function more accessible, inclusive, and responsive across Greater Manchester:
- Improve Access to Information – clearer and more consistent contact details; better search terms, plain language, explanations of the NHS Complaints Regulations; translated and accessible information; and more visible links to local Healthwatch support and advocacy services.
- Expand and Enhance Communication Channels – ensuring multiple ways to contact Patient Services, automatic acknowledgements, and accessible formats, not just digital access.
- Increase Public Awareness – a communications plan to promote the service and clarify what it can and cannot support with.
- Strengthen Local Engagement and Intelligence Sharing – reinstating routine information sharing between localities and maintaining collaborative reporting.
- Strengthen Advocacy Pathways – improving visibility of advocacy support and ensuring equitable access for people with additional needs.
- Ensure Compliance with the Accessible Information Standard – confirming compliance and setting out clear actions to improve accessibility of written and online materials.
NHS Greater Manchester’s Response
In its formal reply (August 2025), NHS GM acknowledged Healthwatch’s recommendations and confirmed changes had been made with some progress while also outlining limitations and future intentions.
Key points from their response include:
- Website Information and Search: NHS GM confirmed that key contact details are available on its website and that terms like “complaints” and “concerns” direct users to the Patient Services page. They acknowledged the importance of plain language and noted that pages can now be translated using an online accessibility tool.
- Links to Healthwatch: They agreed to check and correct any broken or unclear links to local Healthwatch services and that that Patient Services and Healthwatch have separate pages to avoid confusion.
- Public Leaflet: NHS GM said there are no current plans to produce a dedicated printed leaflet, though web pages can be printed if needed.
- Contact Channels: The team offers phone, email, webform, and postal options, with automated email acknowledgements in place.
- Awareness and Communication: NHS GM acknowledged the value of a communications plan but noted that work on this is paused due to national NHS reforms and current resource pressures.
- Collaboration and Data Sharing: They expressed openness to continued collaboration with Healthwatch and to exploring locality-level intelligence sharing once capacity allows.
- Accessible Information: NHS GM confirmed a review of their website content has taken place following Healthwatch’s letter and committed to further improvements in line with the Accessible Information Standard.
Our View
Healthwatch in Greater Manchester welcomes NHS GM’s recognition of the importance of accessibility. However, we remain concerned about the accessibility for those with digital literacy challenges, pace of change and the lack of concrete timelines for key actions such as improving signposting, producing accessible formats, and strengthening local intelligence sharing.
The ability to raise concerns about care: confidently, safely, and accessibly is a cornerstone of patient voice and accountability. While NHS GM’s response is a step forward, there is still work to do to ensure that everyone in Greater Manchester can make a complaint or share feedback without barriers.
Next Steps
We will:
- Continue to monitor progress on the areas raised.
- Work with NHS GM’s Patient Services team to test accessibility from a user perspective.
- Share updates publicly, including any improvements or further concerns identified.
- Champion the need for a fair, transparent, and responsive complaints process that genuinely learns from people’s experiences.
- Feedback the experiences of people across Greater Manchester.
If you’ve recently tried to raise a concern or complaint about NHS care and found it difficult, you can share your experience with your local Healthwatch across Greater Manchester here
Your voice matters. Together we can use lived experience to push for practical improvements across Greater Manchester.