Putting things right, seeking continuous improvement

On 1 April, the new two-stage unified complaints system for health and social care was introduced, bringing a much greater emphasis on local resolution. The aim now is also to treat patients as customers and to value their feedback as a means of improving quality. The new focus on outcomes and learning rather than on adherence to a rigid process is a positive development.

An open and thorough response to a complaint can prevent unnecessary escalation, which is distressing and stressful for patients and doctors alike. However, the scope of financial redress in cases involving maladministration has yet to be fully determined. In the absence of absolute guidance from the Ombudsman, the circumstances in which financial compensation could be appropriate will need to be built on through experience over time and cases.

We believe it is important that financial redress is not seen as an alternative to the proper route for clinical negligence claims and that patient expectations are not unrealistically raised, since this would be hugely counterproductive.

The complaints process can now run simultaneously with litigation, and these are, and should remain, separate routes with different objectives.

Key issues

Changes brought in with the new system include:

• Requirement to negotiate an individual complaints plan with complainant 
• Duty to provide a written response 
• Using all feedback and lessons learnt to improve service delivery 
• Annual reporting to Primary Care Trust.