Hitchkicker's Guide to the Weird World of the NHS Complaints

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eliznew412
Posts: 440
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2006 7:16 pm
Location: Bristol UK

Hitchkicker's Guide to the Weird World of the NHS Complaints

Post by eliznew412 »

I do hope that I don't put patients off making a complaint if they really feel they have to. Personally I would rather avoid making a complaint. However in the current finanancial environment complaints about how doctors made you feel ie non-medical, feelings aren't important and are dangerously regarded as unmeasureable and therefore negatable.
Points I have identified during the "experience" of making a complaint are:

Their Techniques Deflecting from a complaint about a department in the NHS:

You may not be for-warned that the whole meeting would be recorded by on a CD.

The small recording device may be placed in the middle of a large board room table with you at one end and the Head of Department at other.

Fogging – Various supporting point picked out so that your complaints are numerous. This shifts focus and makes the complaint appear impossible to solve and throws you off the issue targeted.

Requests repeatedly made to Summarise, Define and Clarify (Can also be used to fog an issue):

Being asked to Summarise and then to Clarify or even Summarise again:
Implies that you are all over the place and not up to professional standard. You need their assistance to make yourself clear. Also it re-establishes the fact that they are professionals and if your summary differs from your original complaint there is room to shift the focus from what you want to talk about. They can then say that your complaints are numerous.

Being asked to Define any words that appear to criticise them and then being asked repeatedly to define what you mean. If your definition or re-definitions and re-summary appears different from your initial complaint, this can make your complaints look numerous and unclear and too numerous to address. It can also make you appear to be Mr/ Ms complainer.

Isolation and making your Complaint Highly Subjective ie its Just you:
If your complaint is non-medical – just about feelings they are regarded as a non-measurable “experiential” and can therefore in theory be negated if they like! If they decide that your “experience” of the NHS is valid they may listen. If they feel its invalid, its only your pain and possible not valid – because it can’t be measured or you are a slightly batty complaining sort of person.

Protocol – Your lack of Gentrification in the Gentleman’s Club
Being told that making a formal compliant is probably “not the right way to do it” – but not being told what is the right way to do it.

You may feel that you are not privy to their gentleman’s club and they aren’t going to tell you their secrets.

Stating and re-stating what Services they Offer
This may sound impressive. They may state their limitations as well as what they offer and will likely sound very reasonable. If however your needs weren’t met, they may well omit this in anything they have to say or tell you why they weren’t met. This will make you feel helpless if it was simple that you felt hurt ie experiential – it was just your feelings which are immeasurable and therefore not something they can address.


Their Summary of the Complaint Meeting
I was not aware that actually there that there is no summary from them. This can leave you feeling not heard. The conclusion is their “outcomes” which in this case was a delivery of what you will and won’t do and they will do.

I was handed a CD recording of the proceedings.

If you are unhappy with the outcome they will tell you have exhausted all possibilities although they may have appeared to have welcomed suggestions and attendance at a patient’s meeting.

PS PALS advocacy, has been outsourced by the Government to other organisations. I submitted my complaint to them to summarise and tidy up for me. .....they did nothing to change my wording or assist. They simply posted it off on their headed paper. I was too upset to request the copy of the CD. I don't thing they listened to it, just filed it and then chucked it away.
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wagolynn
Posts: 1362
Joined: Thu May 23, 2013 2:49 pm

Re: Hitchkicker's Guide to the Weird World of the NHS Compla

Post by wagolynn »

Hi Liz,

I am sorry to hear of your experience.

As an ex-manager (in industry), I can assure you are not being paranoid, I recognise every step you mentioned as the usual management response to a complaint. At different times, I was encouraged to use such techniques on complainants. Not that anyone (in the commercial world) is ever trained to use such techniques but it is a sort of culture thing. Another reason for this approach to complaints is the manager does not understand what he/she is managing.
Eventually, it dawned on me that complainers are in fact very valuable; they are giving you the benefit of a fresh pair of eyes, un-fettered by internal politics, looking at your organisation. Of course, this does make the very big assumption the manager wants to have the best organisation possible. I am afraid many are there just filling in between paydays.

The most effective counter, I have found is to craft a written statement (ask friends etc. to read it and comment) and stick to it. You will have to take sufficient copies to any subsequent meeting to hand round, (they will have ‘lost’ the original). Answer any questions by reading from the statement a ‘hint’ that local MP and/or press may have a copy tends to help them focus on the problem.

Good luck.
eliznew412
Posts: 440
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2006 7:16 pm
Location: Bristol UK

Re: Hitchkicker's Guide to the Weird World of the NHS Compla

Post by eliznew412 »

Apparently there are no subsequent meetings, even though at times I have felt extremely down. In fact when I had to bring up a complaint at work there were 2 furthing meetings. Tiring and frightening but eventually some progress was made but at least they won't be directly making me feel like not having renal replacement therapy. With the NHS its just a bit more serious - my life at stake.

The following extract with name removed was not in their summary:

"(me speaking) But how come they can just say yes and accept and yet I felt so corrected and these anxious little hand-out papers, initially – when I first saw the young bloke that you had – xxxxxxx (the young psychologist), he gave me these hand-outs. They seemed to be more designed in support of the consultant than the patient and it didn’t seem, like – real to me. And every time I tried to bring up the past I got the same treatment as this poor woman got (showed them the newspaper cutting on Frances Andreas – a middle aged woman who had been abused as a child and persuaded to give evidence against the abuser decades later in order to get conviction – the trauma was too much for her and she committed suicide, although the abuse was in childhood. She was an unwilling witness giving evidence). Now please don’t mistake me, I am not going to commit suicide but you know she was aplomb and I just do hope that you do take note of the papers, now and then when you get these cases, that, well ok we can’t be that simplistic, that if a patient feels that they need support that, well why hammer them down and say “for god’s sake put the past in the past and shut it away and encourage them to do so, when clearly they are indicating, because of tears welling up or whatever, that they need to talk to somebody. Why smack them down and correct it? And this is what I’m saying; I am sorry but this is what I experienced."

I was also asked to define what I meant by "fifty fifty". The head of the renal unit said tried to say that a consultant and patient realtionship is equal. I had to remind him that it is the patient who is more vulnerable. He eventually, reluctantly agreed.

Whatever ever else could be said about the outcome - its not patient focussed. I was lectured on their services. Emotional moments were swept aside with little pause or silence.
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Kenvj
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 11:53 pm

Re: Hitchkicker's Guide to the Weird World of the NHS Compla

Post by Kenvj »

Thank God I live in New Zealand
Kenvj
eliznew412
Posts: 440
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2006 7:16 pm
Location: Bristol UK

Re: Hitchkicker's Guide to the Weird World of the NHS Compla

Post by eliznew412 »

Yes, I do wonder if us Brits have problems with emotions. The main driving force behind the way I was dealt with was apparently I had upset his consultant emotionally and this was the main guiding light throughout and in his summary/ outcomes. If you talk about money you will be directed to the charitable organisation, you will attend you appointments, on time, - if you feel you require longer you are to phone us ahead, you are to have your bloods taken. Taking longer means other patients doen't get seen.

The fact that he was addressing a middle aged woman, not always aware that I am under severe distress - it had become a norm and that psychological support had been given very reluctantly and I had had to work very hard indeed why I felt consistently terrified of medics, his militating attitude could only make things worse.

However, after a gruelling 2hr meeting at work about a different issue, but a job threatening one, I was due to go to my renal appointment. It was too late to cancel, but I duly rang ahead as per instructions. I couldn't face having my bloods taken as I felt so tense. I did speak to the secretary and explained the state I was in and that perhaps it might be best if I don't go as I couldn't face having my bloods done that day. I got a message back via the secretary advising that i should go. I did but got blasted by the consultant. This then made me even more tense and I had to leave the renal unit - no bloods taken.

Emotions are not well handled - there is little indication that emotional intellegence is valued. When I have talked to the renal unit psychologist, feedback was not well received. If they don't understand, they should take feedback seriously. They appear to regard psychological referall either as somethhing for their own support or as a means of percription - ie "kindly fix her please". There is no time for this personalisation rubbish - extremely busy.... This is what we provide. No negotiation - that is if they happen not to "like" you.

Now if I had an interest say in jazz or played cool music. But no - I am one of the unloved, lovelies working in a call centre for a pittance, listening to people moan about not getting a refund, delayed trains. They like me on the phone because of my listening skills.

Question is how long is this unloved lovely going to go on living with such rough handling and militating at stage 5 renal failure, now 58yrs old? Thats the question. I guess I could embarrass them and talk about my experience at the renal conference or something. Apparently my complaint is now a closed book - but I have the complete transcription in my possession. I can only go to the ombudsman and if they aren't interested - there is the papers and all the lawyers in their instituion can reasonably stop a complete transcription being handed to them. Maybe there is a function in us oldies after all.
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