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Interaction with staff member

Posted By Bell845

"Interaction with staff member"

About: General practices in Lothian

(as a relative),

During my recent interaction with the practice regarding a complaint I had helped my mother submit, I had a concerning experience that I believe warrants attention.

Upon checking the status of the email complaint sent the previous week, the member of staff I spoke with constantly reiterated how busy they were due to the absence of other staff members. While I understood the situation, my primary concern was to ascertain if they had received the complaint and to understand the response timeline. Unfortunately, the member of staff's answers remained vague and unspecific.

What I found particularly distressing was their demeanor when confirming the receipt of the complaint. They casually mentioned, with a chuckle, that there were numerous similar complaints to address in their upcoming practice meeting. I found the blatant laughter in response to serious concerns raised by patients, including my mother,  both shocking and disheartening. To me, it indicated a blatant lack of professionalism and a disconcerting absence of empathy.

I believe it's essential for a healthcare establishment to demonstrate care, understanding, and professionalism in all interactions, especially when addressing patient grievances. In my view, the behavior exhibited by the staff member was not only inappropriate but also raises questions about the culture and standards maintained at the practice.

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Responses

Response from Claire Withnell, Patient Experience Officer, Patient Experience Team, NHS Lothian about a year and a half ago
Claire Withnell
Patient Experience Officer, Patient Experience Team,
NHS Lothian

Submitted on 06/10/2023 at 10:28
Published on Care Opinion at 10:28

picture of Claire Withnell

Dear Bell845,

Thank you for sharing your story via Care Opinion.

I am really sorry to hear of the issue you had when you contacted your GP practice to check the status of your complaint. As you mentioned this is not the level of interaction that you should experience when contacting a healthcare establishment, particularly when you are already dealing with a grievance.

As most GP practices within NHS Lothian are independent contractors, I would advise you to contact the Practice Manager directly so this can be investigated and a response provided to your concerns. More information can be found on the NHS Lothian Patient Experience website regarding complaining about your GP practice.

www.nhslothian.scot/yourrights/patient-experience-team-tell-us-about-your-experience

If you remain unsatisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you can contact the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. More information can be found at: https://www.spso.org.uk/contact-us.

Thank you again for sharing your experience.

Kind regards,

Claire

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Update posted by Bell845 (a relative)

Thanks for your response. There is already a complaint lodged with the practice manager about my mums care.

All the research I did prior to submitting this Care Opinion story about this specific interaction, suggested that this was the correct way to highlight my experience.

I was under the impression that this would be shared with the individual doctors practice, as well as the wider NHS departments that could support change and improvements in the culture.

Response from Mariska Vernon-Stroud, Patient Experience Team Lead, Patient Experience Team, NHS Lothian about a year and a half ago
Mariska Vernon-Stroud
Patient Experience Team Lead, Patient Experience Team,
NHS Lothian

I gather feedback from patients to recognise good practise and supporting improving services in NHS Lothian.

Submitted on 13/10/2023 at 15:32
Published on Care Opinion at 17:01

Dear Bell845

Thank you for your response and I am sorry that the response from the Patient Experience team was unhelpful. When someone posts their story on Care Opinion depending on the service mentioned there will be certain people who receive a copy of it to see it and to respond to it. This allows the individual services to respond and identify any areas of learning as well as others in the organisation who can look for learning as a whole. Your story is tagged to ‘General Practices in Lothian’ which means we are unaware of the specific individual GP practice. This is further complicated by some GP services being over seen by NHS Lothian but many of them being independent. Therefore, the recommendation to raise your concern with your individual GP practice means they can investigate the issue and implement any learning. Unfortunately, we have no way of identifying who your GP practice is as this detail is kept anonymous. I hope this clarifies the situation and please be reassured that learning from stories in Care Opinion is applied and we seek all our staff to show care, compassion and respect in all their interactions.

Mariska Vernon-Stroud

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Response from Mariska Vernon-Stroud, Patient Experience Team Lead, Patient Experience Team, NHS Lothian about a year and a half ago
Mariska Vernon-Stroud
Patient Experience Team Lead, Patient Experience Team,
NHS Lothian

I gather feedback from patients to recognise good practise and supporting improving services in NHS Lothian.

Submitted on 17/10/2023 at 12:37
Published on Care Opinion at 13:00

Dear Bell845,

Following some contact with Care Opinion I have now contacted the relevant GP practice and informed them of your story so any learning or improvement can be identified. As highlighted above if you wish to raise your own complaint about the interaction you had with a member of staff I advise you to contact the Practice Manager directly so this can be investigated and a response provided to your concerns.

Kind regards,

Mariska

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