Report on Complaints (Formal and Informal), Comments and Compliments 2011.

This report provides a summary of the Complaints, Comments and Compliments received by Pennine MSK Partnership Ltd for January to December 2011.

Complaints data enables us to identify and respond to any issues. Patient feedback leads directly to learning, helps us identify risks and prevent them from getting worse,highlights opportunities for improvements in the service, all resulting in helping us to maintain standards for our Customer Service Excellence Award.

Complaints (however minor)are logged and acted upon in line with Pennine MSK Partnership Ltd Complaints Procedure, details of which can be found on the website.

A summary of complaints received is reviewed on a monthly basis by Senior Managers and the Directors, where trends are highlighted which are causes for concern.

Comments/Concerns or suggestions are welcomed for Service Improvement. Concerns are logged if a person makes it clear they do not want it to be treated as a complaint and is resolved informally.

Compliments received from all our customers ie patients and colleagues are recognised and where appropriate, receiving individuals are rewarded. Written compliments are logged and staff are encouraged to record any verbal compliments received.

Number of
formal Complaints / Number of
informal Complaints / Comments / Compliment
13 (9 PMSKP responsibility) / 136 (96 PMSKP responsibility) / 4 / 53

(NB There are often several issues raised in a single complaint which may overlap responsibilities)

Summary of formal complaints

  • Complaints were received in relation to:
  • Delay in referral onwards to other hospital.
  • GP referral referred incorrectly to Pennine MSK Partnership.
  • Booking of follow up appointment missed.
  • Miscommunication between clinician and patient around waiting times for further treatment.
  • Time delay in follow up appointment due to communication error.
  • Incorrect patient details on investigations.

Action taken

All complaints were responded to within 3 working days, investigated, actioned and concluded in-line with PMSKP Complaints Procedure. Where possible processes were reviewed and revised.

Copies of response letters are requested for all cases referred on to other services.

* PMSKP’s responsibility

September’s numbers are high due to training where staff were reminded of the importance of reporting problems, however minor they may be. Numbers in following months have fallen due to not maintaining this reporting standard which is continually being encouraged.

Summary of informal complaints

The majority of informal complaints which are the responsibility of our service are related to:

  • Appointment errors - Duplicate appointments, wrong clinic location on letters, incomplete addresses and appointment letters not being received.
  • Delays in results being communicated quickly to patients by clinicians. Individual clinicians have adopted monitoring processes.
  • Patients in error, receiving ‘failed to attend appointments’ (DNA) when they had previously cancelled. This was a common occurrence last year and staff under took training. Training is on-going with the new system (see below).

Action taken

To help improve all the above, the service has recently implemented a new electronic patient record system (Systm One) which incorporates referrals, patient records and appointments into one,compared to previously using 3 separate systems. Over the next few months we should see a significant improvement in all these areas due to streamlining the overall patient journey from referral to treatment which should greatly reduce these errors. The system also allows staff to record all patient contact with the service electronically which can be audited.

  • Patient satisfaction remains very high and is monitored on a quarterly basis with a view to introducing monthly monitoring whilst the patient’s visit is fresh in their minds. Please see website for survey results.

Improvements made following recommendations from patients and colleagues.

  • Clinic location map details improved to include bus stops, walking directions, disabled access and car parks following patient recommendations.
  • SMS Text Appointment Reminder Service introduced to help reduce DNA rates.
  • Monthly monitoring of patient satisfaction whilst the patient’s ‘experience’ is fresh in their minds.
  • Appointment slot allocation and usage reported and available weekly to staff to ensure clinics are filled and where necessary bringing appointments forward.