Assisting with a patient complaint

Problem – a member contacted us regarding a patient complaint that involved a long email in which it was difficult to fully ascertain what the complaint was about, and what a resolution looked like.

Response – Our Strategic & Business lead, Paul Donnelly reviewed the email and, as always, advised on the benefit of responding with only the clinical or service-related points, keeping the response as short as possible, and not showing frustration or annoyance. With Paul's assistance, our member drafted a response to the patient that was reviewed by Paul, who suggested some small changes.

Outcome – Whilst further response from the patient remains unknown, the member was reassured during what was a very stressful and upsetting period, and found Paul's advice and support with drafting responses very helpful. 

In what is a very stressful and upsetting experience, having some informed advice from Paul has been very reassuring. Response was very quick and this was extremely helpful. It was very helpful to have draft responses read by an unbiased third party. I wouldn’t hesitate to use physiofirst for advice in future situations.