Page 24 - IDF Journal 2023

IDF News – Spring 2023
Complaints Handling Workshop
Dr Alexandra Harkins
The IDF Complaints Handling Workshop took place on
the evening of Tuesday
11th October at the Medical Society of London and
was open to all members and practice staff. The IDF recognises that receiving
a complaint can be very stressful for doctors. The aim of the workshop was to support IDF members and those involved in handling complaints in getting it right at Stage 1. Good complaint management and learning from complaints should enable organisations to enhance and improve the quality of care and service that they provide.
The workshop comprised a 90-minute interactive workshop led by Dr Alexandra Harkins, IDF Responsible Officer, involving group discussions on complaints scenarios in line with the updated Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS) Code. The workshop particularly focused on Stage 1 of the complaints handling process ensuring that the four key principles
of effective complaints handling are followed.
• promoting a just and learning culture
• welcoming complaints in a positive way
• being thorough and fair
• giving fair and accountable responses
The ISCAS Code comprises good practice standards to be adhered to
by subscribing organisations across
the UK (subscribers). The IDF is an ISCAS subscriber on behalf of those IDF members who are signed up to the IDF complaints process. Access to the IDF complaint process is only available to
123
THE PRACTICE
Person designated to receive complaints
Practice dispute resolution process
IDF COMPLAINT RESOLUTION PROCEDURE
Complaint Manager
(in cases where the Complaint Manager feels this would be helpful, they can convene a Complaint Committee consisting of any party considered necessary by the Complaint Manager to assist them in stage 2 of the complaint process)
INDEPENDENT SECTOR COMPLAINTS ADJUDICATION SERVICE
Adjudication procedure
Report to the complainant, the doctor and the IDF
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RESOLVED
UNRESOLVED
RESOLVED
UNRESOLVED
IDF connected members and IDF non- connected members who have signed up to the process. Other doctors in the same practice will not automatically be covered by the IDF process and a practice may therefore be required to run two different complaint processes for their doctors simultaneously. In this situation, practices may wish to consider approaching ISCAS to become an ISCAS subscriber in their own right.
All participating connected and non- connected IDF members are required to have a complaint procedure that is based on the process and timescales laid out
in the recently updated IDF Complaint Resolution Procedure Template and made available to all patients via their website.
The ISCAS Code covers complaints made by (or on behalf of) the patient regarding all aspects of their care. The ISCAS Code also covers complaints made by (or on behalf of) the patient regarding services provided by the subscribing organisation including medical care/treatment or a clinician’s behaviour in connection to the care. Areas not covered by the ISCAS Code include complaints relating to clinical negligence, the Mental Health Act,
unlawful acts, breaches of data protection legislation, breaches of clinicians’ professional standards, private medical insurance products, and complaints from NHS-funded patients in a subscribing independent organisation.
The ISCAS Code includes a three-stage process for complaints handling.
The IDF has launched a Complaints Support Service, led by the Responsible Officer to support doctors in the handling of their complaints at Stage 1. This service serves to guide members through the IDF complaints Stage 1 procedure but does not include reviewing the Stage 1 documentation or the Stage 1 response. The Responsible Officer can be contacted at revalidation@idf.co.uk
The IDF has also developed a single page guide, ‘What should I do if I receive a complaint?’ to support members and this is available when logged in to the website.
Emphasis should be on getting Stage
1 right by following a patient-centric approach. If complaints are responded to effectively when they are first raised, then there should be less need for the complaint to be escalated to subsequent