One formal complaint almost every fortnight is being made by new mothers at Courier Country’s maternity wards.
The catalogue of complaints ranges from attitude and behaviour of staff to alleged diagnosis and clinical treatment.
In Tayside there were six formal complaints in 2014 while there were 22 over the same period received by NHS Fife.
Last year Tayside also received six formal complaints at its four labour suites while the figure dropped to 17 in Fife.
Justine Craig, head of midwifery for NHS Tayside said, “We would like to reassure women that they will receive the very best care and support from our dedicated and professional maternity staff across the region whose number one priority is to provide the highest standards of care to women and their families.
“The maternity service takes all complaints very seriously and investigates each complaint individually.
“We actively encourage women and their families to share their experiences with us.
“Feedback is shared with staff and offers an opportunity to learn and improve our services for women and their families.
“The content and complexity of complaints varies considerably and we aim to provide the most appropriate response possible, which may be a phone call, a meeting or a written response.”
There were record complaints against nurses and midwives across the UK last year – with more than 5,000 accused of rogue practices.
An NHS Fife spokesperson said: “As much as NHS Fife strives to ensure patients receive as positive an experience as possible, we place great value upon the complaints we receive, which we use to facilitate further improvement of our services.
“NHS Fife provides a range of dedicated maternity services including a consultant midwife, midwifery-led smoking cessation, complimentary therapies, and diet and exercise.
“The midwifery unit at the Victoria Hospital has also been recognised for excellence by the Royal College of Midwives and has received consistent accreditation by UNICEF for being Baby Friendly.”
Fife Lib Dem councillor Tim Brett was previously Chief Executive of Ninewells Teaching Hospital in Dundee and was a member of the NHS Fife Board.
He said: “Giving birth is a huge event and it is interesting to note the differences between Tayside and Fife in terms of the numbers of complaints.
“As an ex NHS manager myself I always regarded complaints as ‘helpful’ as they showed you where improvement was needed.
“The challenge was to share the results with the relevant staff and address the concerns that were being raised.
“There may of course be underlying problems that need senior management attention.”
An NMC spokesperson said: “As the UK regulator for the nursing and midwifery professions we take complaints relating to poor care seriously.
“In most cases, it is best to raise concerns locally first.
“However concerns can also be raised directly with us and we will investigate if an allegation is made that a nurse or midwife does not meet our standards for skills, education and behaviour.”
