I don't think anyone in the NHS comes to work looking for failure. Pressures and the daily grind make it more difficult but I think, on the whole, the NHS is dedicated to success, accomplishment and achievement.

People want to do the right thing. More than that, they want to do better. When time, bureaucracy and officialdom allow; they want to excel. Nothing feels as good as a job well done. Nothing is more exhilarating than when tired, worried eyes look at you and say; 'thank you'.

From managers to medics, consultants to care staff, estates, domestics, security, clinicians and catering... everyone comes to work with a strong sense of vocation. They want to do the right thing.

Front-line staff know where the waste is. They know why it's not safe to blow the whistle. They know what daft policies do to the continuum of care and they know what works and what doesn't. It's just that no one asks them.

A news item popped up yesterday that was side-lined by some bloke we've never heard of, from the Tories, resigning to join another political party that we probably hear too much of.

The story; NHS complaints rise to 480 every day. OK, here's the usual disclaimer; one complaint is a complaint too many. I get that. If people have a genuine complaint it should be looked at, sorted and dealt with as pronto as possible. No question.

However, there's a bit more to think about. The NHS, one way or another, looks after about a million of us every day. So (480/1,000,000)*100= 0.048% of people complain about how they have been treated.

I know, I know, 0.048% is a % too many but.... well, you know.

Over all, the percentage is on the increase and that might be something to do with treating more people with diminishing resources. Before you reach for the green ink and write to me... I am not excusing poor practice, rudeness, sloppy care, dirty lavatories or poor food but I am saying we need to get a sense of proportion and think about what we're doing about complaints.

The BBC reported; In 2012-13 there were 162,019 complaints and 131,022 in 2007-08. Now, here's a thing; due to a change in the way the data was collected, we don't know how many GP practises reported complaints in previous years so it is unclear how comparable the figures are.

... in other words the numbers are all but meaningless.

The BBC continued; ...most complaints - 34,400 - were focused on inpatient hospital care... and ...the largest percentage increase in complaints was for ambulance crews - up 28.5% to 5,700.

I would point out I make that 15 ambulance complaints a day; the average ambulance Trust handles 4,000 patients a day and there are ten ambulance Trusts... you do the maths this time.

The question we need to answer is; 'why'. Why is the ambulance service in the spotlight? It might be they see people at their most worried, their most ill, their most drunk, their most demanding, their most... well anything really, including they are under the most pressure.

Analysis of complaints is the most enlightening thing a business can do and I'm sure it is no different for the NHS. Does anyone do root-cause analysis? Bill Gates said "Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." Actually anyone running a chip knows that - we don't need Bill and his blue screen of death... thank you... but I guess he makes a good point!

What are we learning from complaints? Are we looking for trends, repeats, at what point in the process do people complain, do they complain about the complaints process, what are the outcome measures. Managing complaints is very different from recording them. Consolidating complaints data nationally and locally can unlock some real home truths.

Getting complaints is no great sin. The sin is not listening, acting, fixing and learning.

The NHS is fond of counting its troubles but as far as I know no one counts its successes, its victories and its triumphs. I go into wards and see 'thank you' cards pinned to the wall.  

If every ward has 20 cards and every hospital has thirty wards and there are 400 hospitals I make that 240,000 very happy people.