Fears about unsatisfactory public services are going ‘unheard or unaddressed’ as research suggests two thirds of users don’t complain despite being unhappy.
A national poll by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman service has found only 34% of people unhappy with a service actually lodge a complaint.
The survey of 4,263 people found 14% think objecting about the quality of a service would be ‘more hassle than it was worth’, while almost a tenth of respondents feel it would be too time consuming.
However research suggests 90% of people feel they should complain if they are unhappy with a public service.
The findings have prompted calls for a single, clear system for complaints over concerns the system is currently ‘far harder than it should be’.
Charitable body Citizens Advice said it had seen a 56% increase in the number of reported issues about public service complaints in the past four year.
Parliamentary and health service ombudsman Julie Mellor said: ‘People are reluctant to make complaints to public services even though they think it is right to complain. Too many people don’t know how to complain and feel that if they do it won’t make a difference. This means concerns are going unheard or unaddressed.
‘Public service providers need to focus on being open and honest when things go wrong. If not, we lose opportunities to learn from mistakes and improve how public services are delivered.’
The Government has committed to launching a single public service ombudsman covering all public services for England, including health and social care.
Responding to the research, Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: ‘Complaining about public services is far harder than it should be. The system for raising a problem can be complex and in some cases people simply don’t know where to turn.
‘There needs to be single, clear system for complaints. This will give people a voice and let them shape how important public services work.’
