|
Includes how people’s concerns and complaints are listened to, responded to and used to improve the quality of care? Do people know how to raise a complaint and is it easy to do so? How effectively are complaints handled? Where issues are identified, how are complaints used as an opportunity to learn and drive improvement?
Looking at what we have completed in the past (yesterday), what we are doing currently (today) and what we plan on doing in the future (tomorrow):
|
|
YESTERDAY
|
TODAY
|
- The trust must ensure that the complaints process is easily accessible, and the timescales are appropriate.
- Complaint and concern investigations were consistently completed later than the timescale given to the reporter.
- Lessons needed to be learnt and actioned from the feedback that the Trust received from patient feedback.
- Complaints and concerns were replied to in a matter-of-fact way, lacking empathy and compassion to the reporters.
- Complaints and concerns could be raised via email, letter, website enquiry, phone call and social media.
|
- A new complaints policy was implemented on 1st April 2021, which includes a complexity grading and timescales which are agreed with the reporters.
- Compliance of complaints and concerns being completed within the new timescales in monitored weekly and is gradually improving.
- Weekly tracking meetings are taking place with the Patient Experience Coordinators to monitor the most overdue complaints and concerns and set actions to get these completed.
- A new Patient Experience Improvement Manager role has been created and recruited to work alongside the Safety Improvement Specialist to triangulate the data received from Patient Experiences and Incidents to action the lessons learnt
- The Patient Experience Team have all undertaken "A Journey Through Complaints Using Empathy Training" and response letters are being reviewed to ensure greater empathy and compassion.
- The Patient Experience team are starting to work more closely with external providers (including Healthwatch and Care Opinion) to improve the accessibility to the complaints and concerns process. Research has begun into training the team to create Easy Read documents that can be used by the department.
- The patient experience team have adapted to work flexibly and remotely since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The team were, and remain, focused on hearing the patient’s voice.
|
|
TOMORROW
|
- There will be a focus on greater monitoring of the new complaints policy. The Patient Experience team plan to have closer communication with the reporters,’ agreeing timescales at the beginning of the investigation and how regularly the updates should take place.
- The team will continue to monitor and improve the compliance of complaints with further training for Investigating Managers and the Patient Experience Team.
- Weekly tracking meetings will continue within the Patient Experience Team with greater support for the Investigating Managers.
- A work plan will be created for the New Patient Experience Improvement Manager and Safety Improvement Specialist. Triangulation of data across the teams to commence and greater sharing of lessons learned, and actions taken across the Trust and within training sessions.
- Further training, support and coaching is planned for the Investigating Managers and Patient Experience Team to ensure compassionate, honest, and open investigation responses.
- We will continue to create closer connections with the external providers to capture a wider range of feedback. Have greater presence on social media and make frontline workers aware of the complaints process. Train the team for Easy Read creation.
- Going forward, plans are in place to ensure that Trust Patient Experience information is available in an ‘easy read’ format.
- There are plans in place to nominate the Co-produced Engagement Strategy for a national award.
|
