Patient/Service User complaints

Overview

At some stage a service user or patient may become dissatisfied with an aspect of support, advice or care they have received, or are still receiving.

As the person working closely with the service user/patient, and potentially family members, you may be the first person to whom they will turn for advice, support and guidance.

All organisations will have a formal complaints procedure.  However, in most cases the individual may not want to pursue a formal complaint, instead they wish to be listened to and heard.

Good practice is to

• Listen to them and acknowledge their feelings – an empathetic approach will often lead to a successful outcome and apologise;
• Ask questions and seek as much information as you can as to why they are feeling unhappy and help to figure out what may resolve the problem;
• Explain that you are taking their concern/complaint seriously and suggest some solutions (but do not impose them) and see if the individual is amenable to trying out some ideas for a resolution;
• Identify what actions you will take eg who you may need to speak to and when you will do so and what information you will share
• Agree a timescale for feeding back to the individual
• Conclude and check your understanding and that the person understanding what will happen.
• If relevant share with them the formal complaints procedure for your organisation and ensure that you report your discussion to your line manager/team leader (or the most relevant person).

Why is this important

Statutory organisations such as the NHS and Local Authority have formal complaints procedures.  Within the NHS Constitution patients have a set of rights should they raise a formal complaint including timescales for response and keeping them informed of progress. It is therefore, important to ensure that any complaint is notified to the right person as soon as possible once the patient/service user has decided how they wish to progress.

Similarly those wishing to complain about social care are encouraged to use the formal complaints procedure, particularly where the matter cannot be resolved informally.

Very often patients/service users want someone to listen and understand their concerns and often want to ensure that the same issues, errors or omissions do not happen to someone else.  They will also want to regain confidence in the service themselves. Training will be provided to you by your employer as part of your introduction to your role.

Skills Review

Having completed this sub-topic I will understand the importance of these skills.

• I am able to listen, ask relevant questions, be understanding, provide the correct advice and, if appropriate offer potential solutions should a patient/service user raise a concern/complaint.