Caring and daring to complain: An examination of UK national phobics society members’ perception of primary care

This paper examines perception of primary care provision from the perspective of service users who are members of the UK National Phobics Society (NPS). It contributes to qualitative research on user perception of health care, and presents user recommendations for service improvement by examining the results of in-depth interviews with 40 participants (35 females, 5 males). In addition, the paper contributes to methodological debates concerning appropriate ways to access user perceptions. In addressing this secondary objective, it suggests that support group members may be particularly well placed to reflect on their experiences of treatment from an emotionally safe ‘distance’; that is, support groups enable users to overcome widely recognised reluctance to (dare to) complain about care.