Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to ensure Ultrasound Insight enhances service delivery through consumer input through the collection of patient feedback, and that patient complaints are received, addressed and resolved promptly with respect to the patient’s needs and privacy.
Policy
Ultrasound Insight utilises patient, referrer and provider feedback and complaints to identify new ways to improve our service delivery for patients, and to address patient concerns as they arise.
Patients, referrers and providers have a right to complain and where possible, patients and other stakeholders are encouraged to raise any concerns directly with the team who are all trained to make sure the complainant feels confident that any feedback or complaints made will be handled appropriately. We believe most complaints can be responded to and resolved at the time the complainant makes the issue known to our team.
Under national and state privacy laws, our clinics provide and adhere to a complaints process for privacy issues and those related to the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
All members of our practice team are educated to be prepared to address complaints as they arise. Depending on the nature of the complaint and any advice received from our medical indemnity insurers where required, complaints are recorded and actioned, with a copy placed in the patient’s health record if related to patient care.
All staff are aware of the professional and legal obligations regarding the mandatory reporting of unprofessional conduct.
In order to respond to patient, provider and referrer feedback and complaints and make improvements, the practice owners share primary responsibility for examining issues raised and for facilitating improvements within our service.
Our medical services seek structured/systematic patient experience feedback at least once every three (3) years and the data collected is analysed and the findings, including any improvements made, are communicated back to our patients.
As part of our quality management activities, a record of complaints and feedback is maintained in the medical services Feedback and Complaints Register.
Procedure
COMPLAINTS
Our complaints handling process aims to minimise complainant anxiety or hostility, which may lead to litigation. We follow these steps:
Inform the owners who are responsible for responding to complaints.
For verbal complaints, escort the patient/provider/referrer to a private area to discuss.
Listen attentively, take notes and repeat key concerns to reassure the complainant you understand their complaint.
Assure the complainant we will take their complaint seriously and thoroughly investigate it.
Document the complaint and pass on notes to the owners to record details in the Feedback and Complaints Register.
Contact the complainant within two working days after they lodge a complaint and continue to update them during the investigation, so they know we are taking action.
For a clinically based complaint, contact the treating clinician’s medical defence organisation for advice.
Decide on an appropriate resolution and notify the complainant.
Document all communication with the complainant, including written responses.
Review the complaint at the next owner’s meeting to discuss how it could have been prevented.
If someone other than the patient makes a complaint on behalf of a patient, make sure you have the consent of the patient or their legally authorised representative before discussing the patient’s treatment with them.
Stakeholders have opportunities to register their complaints either:
Verbally
In writing (letter or email)
Via our suggestion box
Patients or others are able to complain anonymously if desired.
When receiving complaints, our practice keeps in mind the following in order to minimise further complainant anxiety and hostility:
Handle all complaints seriously, no matter how trivial they may seem.
Verbal complaints made in person should be addressed in a private area of the practice where possible.
Use tactful language when responding to complaints.
Do not blame others; complainants may not have all the facts or they may distort them.
Address the complainant’s expectations regarding how they want the matter resolved.
Assure the complainant that their complaint will be investigated, and the matter not disregarded.
Offer the person an opportunity to complete a formal complaint form (they may accept or decline).
Document all complaints and other relevant information and place this in the complaint folder so the owners are informed of the complaint (even if the matter appears to have been resolved).
Alert the owners about disgruntled or hostile patients so they can diffuse the situation immediately - often complainants are reluctant to make a complaint directly to a clinician.
Always inform the owners if you become aware of any significant statements made by the complainant or significant change in complainant attitude.
Any investigation and resolution of complaints is undertaken by the owners using an open disclosure process, incorporating the following:
Acknowledge the individual’s right to complain.
Acknowledge receipt of the complaint as soon as possible, but within two (2) working days in writing.
Respond to all complaints as soon as reasonably practicable, but within thirty (30) days in an open and constructive manner including an explanation and, if appropriate, an apology.
If a resolution of the matter is to take longer than thirty (30) days, an update of the resolution activities will be provided to the complainant, with an anticipated revised timeframe for resolution.
Work with the complainant to resolve the complaint and communicate the outcome with the complainant, including any changes made as a result of the complaint.
As a routine, contact the practice’s insurer when there is a complaint about a member of the clinical team in order to seek advice on resolving the complaint before any action is taken.
Where a complaint is made against a team member, provide the team member with an opportunity to discuss the details in a private setting.
If the complainant is a patient, ensure the complaint does not adversely affect the patient’s care. If the complainant is a referrer or provider, ensure the complaint does not adversely affect the professional relationship or the level of service provision they receive.
Record the complaint, investigation and actions in the dedicated complaints file and, if related to patient care, include a copy in the patient’s health record.
Ensure, where appropriate, complaints are reviewed at staff meetings; analyse trends and discuss the methods of resolution.
Review other types of feedback (i.e. feedback surveys, suggestion box) during owners and team meetings.
Keep a record of improvement(s) made in response to feedback or complaints.
Where appropriate, inform the complainant about improvements made as a result of their input.
If it is a patient complaint and the matter cannot be resolved, the patient is advised about how to contact the external health complaints agency for Queensland:
Office of the Health Ombudsman
Phone: 133 646
Email: info@oho.qld.gov.au
Complaints that relate to privacy issues or concerns that cannot be resolved internally are to be directed to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Telephone: 1300 363 992
Postal Address: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Web: www.oaic.gov.au
Members of the public may make a notification to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) - www.ahpra.gov.au - about the conduct, health or performance of a practitioner or the health of a student. Practitioners, employers and education providers are all mandated by law to report notifiable conduct relating to a registered practitioner or student to AHPRA.
fEEDBACK
The owners are responsible for examining feedback raised by patients, providers and referrers and facilitating improvements as a result.
At any time, patients, providers and referrers can provide feedback. They are advised of the processes for providing feedback through:
Our website advising how to provide feedback or make a complaint
Verbally via staff contact with patients, referrers and providers
Provision of a ‘suggestion box’ in a common patient area (i.e. waiting room)
Adequate training provided to all team members to ensure stakeholders feel confident that any feedback or complaints made will be handled appropriately
We seek structured/systematic patient experience feedback at least once every three (3) years. Feedback collected includes, but is not limited to, the following six (6) categories that are considered critical to patient experiences within healthcare facilities:
Access and availability
Provision of information
Privacy and confidentiality
Continuity of care
Communication and interpersonal skills of the clinical team
Communication and interpersonal skills of the administrative team
Data collected is analysed to identify potential opportunities for quality improvement. These findings are communicated back to our patients through:
A poster in the waiting room
Our website
Individually as appropriate
All feedback is captured within the Complaints and Feedback Register for consideration and potential implementation.
