The number of complaints against Ninewells Hospital has rocketed by nearly 40% in just four years.
New figures reveal patients and visitors lodged 588 complaints about the hospital last year, compared to 421 in 2010. Some related to more than one aspect of their experiences.
Hospital users lodged 442 complaints about the clinical treatment they received, while 286 people were disappointed by the attitude and behaviour of staff.
The health board also received 283 complaints regarding verbal communication and 104 related to hospital appointments.
Patients and visitors to Ninewells were also unhappy about the competency of staff, patient privacy or dignity, the premises and patient records.
More than 20 people were also dissatisfied with the handling of complaints.
In total, NHS Tayside received 867 complaints about the region’s hospitals in 2014, compared to 758 the previous year.
Margaret Watt, chairwoman of the Scotland Patients’ Association, said: “It’s 2015 and I would have thought Ninewells Hospital would be performing a lot better than it has been.
“If staff are behaving inappropriately then the NHS will want to think about that because we don’t need that kind of care.
“It works both ways, though patients also have to treat staff with respect and dignity.
“You would think that the new chief executive would be making sure everything is being done appropriately.
“There has always been bad publicity surrounding the hospital and the area and it is high time it was turned around.
“They need to make sure people are comfortable in going to hospital.”
A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said: “As a requirement under the Patients Rights Act (Scotland), contractors themselves are responsible for managing and responding to feedback, including complaints.
“Therefore, the majority of complaints about these services are not processed by NHS Tayside’s complaints and feedback team, although there is good communication and systems in place to ensure anything which comes into the complaints team is passed on appropriately.”
The spokeswoman added: “Ninewells is the largest hospital in Tayside, with thousands of patients and carers passing through its doors every day.
“Although the number of formal complaints received equates to a very small proportion of all patient care episodes, we treat every complaint on an individual basis and use the learning from our investigations of complaints and feedback to make changes and improve care.”