CRRU

Healthcare Complaints Analysis Tool (HCAT)

HCAT is a free evidence-based tool developed by Tom Reader and Alex Gillespie for analysing complaints from patients and families

HCAT is used to identify the safety problems reported in complaints, grade their severity, and understand their causes

This turns complaints into actionable data that can be used for organisational learning

Impact

Used in national complaint systems in several countries
Recommended to every NHS organisation by the Ombudsman
Informing NHS England’s early warning signs of failing hospital care
Used by over 60 organisations in 20 countries
Building HCAT-AI with King’s College Hospital and Care Opinion

Using HCAT

Read the HCAT manual
Complete the free online training
Analyse your data with the online tool
Produce a report (example report)
Read the research behind HCAT
Contact the designers of HCAT with any questions

Key papers

Reader, Gillespie & Roberts (2014), BMJ Quality & Safety
Gillespie & Reader (2016), BMJ Quality & Safety
Gillespie & Reader (2018), The Milbank Quarterly
Reader & Gillespie (2021), Journal of Applied Psychology
Gillespie & Reader (2023), Risk Analysis
Reader (2026), BMJ Quality & Safety

Find out more: healthcarecomplaintsanalysis.com has the full guide, the evidence, and contact details