Letter to the editor: The NHS complaints system at Darent Valley Hospital is “not fit for purpose” and appears to give people a complete “run around” when they complain or ask about any aspect of their treatment, as I did earlier this year.

After taking trouble to find out who to complain to at Darent Valley Hospital, I made my complaint but was informed it would have to be dealt with by Medway NHS Trust as it had taken over rheumatology services and clinics.

I guess someone forgot to tell the patients.

To get my complaint this far took a few weeks and nobody at Darent Valley Hospital kept me informed.

On April 4 I received an email from Medway NHS Trust thanking me for my complaint and asking for my postal address so the chief executive could write to me following its investigation.

It then took the Medway NHS Trust until May 10 to reply.

Even then it missed out half the complaint and did not include it in their letter when it finally arrived on May 16.

Guess what?

It took the trust all that time to tell me it could not deal with my complaint and I should take it up with the new body which has replaced the primary care trust.

All I wanted to know was why my medical treatment was going to be carried out by a private healthcare company and what the cost was to the hospital or the NHS for delivery of the medication from Northampton to Swanley and a private health company nurse to explain how to use the medication.

It leaves me wondering how much these private health companies are charging the NHS and how many of these private health companies are involved with the NHS.

Is it back-door privatisation of our NHS ?

Cllr Robert Woodbridge, Swanley