PATIENTS have inundated health watchdogs with complaints against their GPs and hospitals following the case of killer doctor Harold Shipman.

Watchdogs believe that as a result of the Shipman scandal, people are less trusting of their doctors and health staff, leading to more complaints

Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley health chiefs had a record number of grievances at the start of 2002.

But in Burnley, the Community Health Council says they had not seen any increase in complaints and had been dealing with an average of around 18 or 19 in a quarter.

Blackburn CHC received five serious complaints about services in the first four working days of 2002 and nine in the first three weeks - compared with three in the first three weeks of 2001.

Staff also believe one of the reasons for the rise is publicity surrounding the CHC's abolition in 2003, raising public awareness of their group.

Of the 82 complaints needing casework between March 1 to December 31 2001, 27 referred to the patient's GP in some way. There were a further 70 which did not need casework. The figures are just over a quarter up on the previous year.

Chief officer Nigel Robinson said: "It is very unusual for us to have that level of complaints. We normally receive around one or two a week, but we are being swamped."

Mr Robinson said his current caseload involved 70 complaints, 40 of which were "live," meaning the person complaining was still pursuing it. The rest were still being investigated by the CHC, but the person complaining was satisfied with the outcome.

"I have never had 70 complaints going at one time. In 16 years with the CHC, it has never happened," he said. "It's quite a worrying situation."

He added: "Post Shipman, members of the public have become more aware of the role of the professional bodies and their right to report practitioners to these organisation.

"During the year, we have had an increased number of inquiries about reporting practitioners and some clients have asked that their case be referred for consideration."

There was only one complaint about a dentist, one regarding ophthalmology and three about treatment at accident and emergency.

East Lancashire Health Authority also saw a rise in complaints while publicity surrounding Shipman's trial was at its height, but the number of complaints had dropped recently.

Managers believe the drop is partly due to complaints being resolved at a lower level through GP practices.

The authority received 126 complaints in 1997-8, 196 in 1998-9, 193 in 1999-2000 and then a drop to 155 in 2000-1.

Burnley CHC received 22 formal complaints between July to September 2001 and 17 between October and December 2001.

Chairman Frank Clifford said: "We are running at around the 17 to 20 mark for formal complaints. I wouldn't have said we have seen any marked increase. We deal with an average of 100 formal complaints a year."

The General Medical Council professional conduct committee, which deals with complaints on the professional conduct of doctors, has seen a marked rise in complaints since the Shipman case.

It received 3,000 complaints in 1999, but the numbers rose by 50 per cent to 4,500. A spokesman for the GMC said: "We are expecting the numbers to rise again for 2001.

"The main reason for the rise is with high profile cases, like the Shipman case, people seem to come forward and are more willing to complain."