Hospital Complaints Surge 79% (CMS Report): Key Takeaways for Nurses

Patient complaints against hospitals have surged in recent years, with new federal data and industry experts confirming a 79% increase in hospital-directed complaints over the past five years. 

As frontline healthcare professionals, nurses are often at the intersection of care delivery and patient satisfaction. Understanding what is driving this trend is critical both for patient safety and for hospital culture. Data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and recent analysis offer insight into what’s changing — and what nursing teams can do.

What the CMS Data Shows

According to a memorandum released by CMS in August 2025:

• Since FY19, the number of complaints requiring investigation has increased by 31.3% nationally across all facility types, highlighting growing dissatisfaction and scrutiny across the healthcare sector.
• Nursing homes continue to receive the highest number of complaints (over 107,000 in FY2024).
• Hospital complaints (>14,500 in FY2024) jumped 79% compared to 2019 levels, the single largest rate increase among all facility types. 
• State survey agency funding has been flat since 2015, even as workload (number of complaints, investigations) has sharply increased.

What Kind of Complaints Are Most Common?

Common complaints reported by patients include:

• Communication breakdowns between staff and patients
• Long wait times for care or test results
• Concerns about professionalism and respect
• Cleanliness and room issues

As noted in the CMS report, these types of grievances are increasingly being formally recorded because patients now have more accessible avenues for lodging their concerns.

 

Why Complaints Are Rising

Several contributing factors emerge from the report. These are issues nurses are well positioned to observe and influence.

• Oversight and Accountability Delays: When investigations aren’t launched promptly, or when standard recertification surveys are delayed, patients may feel their safety and concerns aren’t being taken seriously.
• Resource Constraints: With fixed funding but increasing numbers of complaints and required inspections, survey agencies (and by extension, hospitals) are under strain. Staffing shortages, delays in surveys and follow-ups, and slower remediation of deficiencies contribute to patient perceptions that quality of care may be slipping.
• Higher Patient Expectations: Post-pandemic, patients are more aware (sometimes via media, social media, advocacy) of what "good care" should look like — communication, transparency, respect, safety. When expectations are not met, patients may escalate their concerns rather than tolerate suboptimal experiences quietly. While this is more of a cultural and social trend than empirical data in the cited sources, it’s referenced in the analysis. 
• Trust Erosion: Complaint data suggests growing “frustrations from patients about their care experiences,” tied to not only clinical outcomes but also how hospitals respond (or fail to respond) to patient concerns. When people feel their voice is ignored, more will file formal complaints. 

What Nurses Should Be Especially Aware Of

• Communication breakdowns are often at the root of complaint escalation. It might be a delay, unclear information, lack of empathy, or perceived dismissiveness.
• Timeliness matters. Nurses can be advocates for ensuring concerns are flagged early (by patients or family) and that feedback loops are tight.
• Documentation: when patients report something, having good, clear, timely documentation can both help the hospital respond appropriately and prevent misunderstandings.
• Culture of apology and responsiveness: Even when systems fail, how staff respond (hearing, acknowledging, acting) can make a big difference in whether a complaint is filed formally.

What Hospitals (and Nurse Leaders) Can Do

Here are strategies suggested in recent analyses, some of which nurses can help drive on the unit level:

• Invest in rapid‐response systems so patient concerns are acknowledged and addressed before they escalate. 
• Empower frontline staff (nurses especially) to resolve concerns in real time. When patients see someone is listening and taking action right away, they often do not pursue formal complaints. 
• Improve patient communication and transparency: Regular check‐ins, clearly explaining delays, what to expect, how care processes work.
• Strengthen internal complaint tracking and resolution, ensuring not only that complaints are handled but that data are used to identify systemic issues.
• Support state survey agency effectiveness: While hospitals do not control state agency funding, hospitals can comply proactively with survey standards, help improve accuracy of self‐reporting, and partner in state/county readiness efforts.

The recent CMS data clearly shows complaints are rising sharply, especially in hospitals, and oversight systems are struggling to keep pace. For nurses, this is more than just a metric — it reflects patient trust, safety, and the health of the care environment. Hospitals and nurse leaders should consider doubling down on responsiveness, communication, and system-level feedback loops. Finally, front-line nurses can play a crucial role by listening closely, advocating for timely investigations, and helping shape a culture where patient concerns are neither minimized nor delayed.

 

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