BMJ 1994;309:544 (20 August)

Letters

Informal complaints procedure in general practice

EDITOR, - P C Pietroni and S de Uray-Ura's paper reporting their experience of an informal complaints procedure in general practice raises several issues.1 Firstly, a patient liaison worker was chosen to handle the complaints, and this person may have been viewed as a member of the practice team. The patients may have wondered whether complaints would be resolved impartially.

Secondly, although the paper records the outcomes of the complaints, it does not mention the degree of satisfaction felt by the patients. The end point of the complaints procedure was decided by the patient liaison worker, not by the patients.

Thirdly, although complaints by staff were addressed, no explanation is given about what action could be taken if the member of staff was not satisfied with the outcome. Being able to air a grievance is often of therapeutic value, but if no positive steps can be taken it may lead . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Informal complaints procedure in general practice: first year's experience
P C Pietroni and S De Uray-Ura
BMJ 1994 308: 1546-1549. [Abstract] [Full Text]

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