Post on 15-Dec-2015
COMPLAINTS AND PALS AT UCLH
Alison Glover - complaints
Sarah King - PALS
RESOLVING PATIENTS’ CONCERNS
Two teams working closely together and with trust departments to resolve patient concerns and improve services where necessary
PALS Role is to provide general advice on UCLH services, sometimes NHS
services/structure (referrals etc), and to resolve issues patients by liaising with the relevant clinical teams.
Focus is on speedy resolution of patients’ concerns
COMPLAINTS A formal process following complaints procedures laid down by the
Department of Health Explicit processes and targets including external independent review
by the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman
COMPLAINT PROCESS
Complaint received (via e.g. CEO's Office, Trust website) Sent to central complaints team & assessed for risk / severity Registered on 'Datix' Sent to lead division for investigation (copied to others, eg CN) Telephone call to complainant to discuss complaint, approach to investigation & timescales Investigation conducted Response prepared Sent to central complaints team, quality checked CEO covering letter drafted & complaint sent to CEO for sign off
NUMBER AND TYPES OF COMPLAINTS AND CONCERNS
Pals handled 3,378 cases in 2013 and approximately 4,200 quick enquiries
665 formal complaints received in 2013
Types of concerns: Access issues Administration / letters Environment / food Attitudes Nursing / medical care Clinical outcome
HOW COMPLAINTS & CONCERNS ARE USED TO IMPROVE SERVICES
Focus is on improving services to ensure future patients do not have similar problems
Learning for individuals eg attitude / competency Subspecialty or departmental changes Capturing themes / triangulation of data Sharing learning across a division / the Trust
EXAMPLES OF SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS
The introduction of divisional Quality and Complaints Officers to act as first point of contact for PALS and Complaints
The option of 'no treatment' must be explicitly discussed and documented during the consent process – revised UCLH consent policy
Development of clinical guidelines e.g. use of analgesia in the Emergency Department
SERVICE IMPROVEMENT AT LOCAL LEVEL
Complaints about the latent phase of labour progressing more rapidly than expected after initial assessment
(It happens everywhere, and can result in “BBA” – birth before arrival!)
The action: A tighter management protocol The creation of “the Nest” – a place to sit it out in the
Maternity Care Unit
UCLH Charity and Friends of UCLH
Rachel Wilcox,Manager, PR and Discretionary
Funds
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in service improvement
Sameen Malik, Patient and Public Involvement Lead
What is PPI and why should we do it?
• Gives people a say in how we do things at UCLH
• It helps us to:
− Ensure services meet patient needs
− Identify areas for improvement
− Connect better to patients
− Monitor our progress
− Fulfil our legal requirement!
What improvements have we made from PPI?
It might not always be easy to make changes… but you may help us to identify things we hadn’t thought about that can really make a difference
Patient with visual impairment
Positive experience, but couldn’t
find their way to imaging
Route card to help patients find their way
Interviews revealed this was due to overhearing
conversations in the next bay
What improvements have we made from PPI?
Patients felt staff sometimes talked as if they weren’t there
Confidential warning sign on curtains was introduced
It might not always be easy to make changes… but you may help us to identify things we hadn’t thought about that can really make a difference
How can you get involved?
• Let us know of your areas of interest
− Tell us if you are happy to commit to something on-going or just as a one-off
• We will contact you when projects in your interest area come up
Sameen MalikRos Waring
Volunteers
Andrea Kennedy, volunteer and patient governor