Doctor in the house (Published 23/03/06)

There is a lot of talk nowadays of a ‘compensation culture’. My experience is quite different. Take for example when medical help goes wrong. A desire for money is rarely the driving force in these things. For all the talk of a ‘compensation culture’, most people aren’t really all that bothered about money. They just tend to resent being ignored or treated like idiots. They want answers, or to make sure the same thing does not happen to someone else. To reduce it to money terms is almost to add insult to injury.

So if you don’t want to rush straight off to court, how does the NHS complaints procedure work? The complaint can be something as straightforward as dissatisfaction with how you have been treated or spoken to or up to something a lot more serious such as misdiagnoses or poor treatment of an illness.

The first point of call is what the bureaucrats call "Local Resolution". In other words, having a chat about it with the doctor or whoever directly involved. If however it’s not so straightforward it will be passed on to a more senior person. If the matter is more serious and an investigation is required, the matter will be referred to the hospital complaints manager. If the complaint is in writing, the response must be too.

With more serious complaints the patient may be invited to a formal meeting to discuss the incident with those involved. It is quite possible the opinion of a senior director will be sought. The aim is to have a full investigation within 4 weeks, although there are no sanctions or penalties in place if this is not met.

If you are still dissatisfied, you have the right to have the result reviewed independently, this is usually for cases where the trust between you as the patient and the hospital or doctor has become strained.

If the complaint is still not satisfactorily resolved, the case is then reviewed by a panel of 3 non-medical people. They will make recommendations based on their findings. These will be concerned with both redress for you as the individual and improvement of the services provided.

If you are still not happy, then you still have the court option if you want to take it. So in theory you have nothing to lose by giving the complaints system a try. In practice though if you do want to keep the court option open it is best to keep quiet about it, as the prospect of that might make even the most conscientious bureaucrat a mite tongue-tied!

Whatever the problem, Wilsons Solicitors are able to point you in the right direction, and help and guide you every inch of the way.

Steven Murgatroyd