Does the complainant have a letter(s), other records?
The complainant may have already expressed their concerns to a member of staff, either orally or in writing. They may also have records of telephone conversations. Or at this stage they may have made a note of their main concerns. If the complainant has copies of correspondence, it is important to go through them in date order and check all the main points.
Checklist for letters
It is useful to draw up and keep a log of the correspondence, for example:
| Who did they communicate with? |
Letter? Phone call? Meeting? |
What did the healthcare provider promise to do? |
What did the complainant promise to do? |
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The complainant will find it helpful to keep a record of any subsequent conversations or correspondence in this kind of format.
First steps : accurate recording
You should try to get as much relevant information as possible from the complainant, including the following
- the complainant’s details, name, address, phone number
- the service that is being complained about
- the staff involved, including names and positions
- when and where the incident happened
- the complainant’s concerns - be as specific as possible
- the questions they want answered
- things they want explaining
- issues they want to be looked at
- comments they want to make
- what they would like to happen as a result of their complaint.
Make a note of any additional information you may need at this stage – perhaps as a list of questions.
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It is really important to check with the complainant that you have written down all the issues the complainant wants addressed. Any issues not raised in the initial complaints letter will not be dealt with during the complaints procedure. They would have to be dealt with as a new, separate complaint |
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Next: Access to records and patient information
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