Almost one in three patients in Scotland experience problems with their NHS care, but it goes unrecorded because many believe nothing will be done. A report commissioned by the Scottish Health Council highlighted poor communication and staff attitude as the most persistent problems, but found “significant” barriers to making a complaint. In all, almost one-third of patients had encountered a problem with the NHS, but 53% of that group did not complain about the service they received, with many saying that it “wouldn’t make any difference”. The report said: “People perceive many disincentives to complain even when things have gone quite seriously wrong for them in their contact with the NHS in Scotland. People’s experiences and relationships with the NHS in Scotland are often complex and most people just want to move on from them. “Fundamentally, people in Scotland just do not want to complain about the NHS.” The Making It Better report was based on a survey of almost 2000 people, including 257 who had complained to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, and responses from health boards and complaints-handling staff. About 35 formal complaints are made for every 100,000 patient contacts, but the report warned that this “cannot be assumed to be a mark of patient satisfaction” as people have “low expectations” and many do not give any feedback about their treatment.